Number 97-98 £1 or $2 Feb. 2019 Osvaldo Bayer is Dead One of Argentina’s most highly respected intellectuals, His activism led to his being targeted by the Triple the journalist and historian Osvaldo Bayer has died. A (Argentinean Anti-Communist Alliance) during the His revisionist approach to labour’s struggles and the government of Maria Estela Martínez de Perón and in repression of the organized workers introduced a 1975 he left for exile in Berlin. Some of his books car- watershed into the interpretation of Argentina’s his- ried titles such as The Anarchist Expropriators, tory. The slaughter of the peons, featured in his invest- Severino Di Giovanni: Violent Idealist, Argentinian igation Rebellion in Patagonia, maybe his best-known Football, Rebellion and Hope. He also wrote the book. For that and for other research cataloguing the screenplay for La Patagonia Rebelde, the movie direc- repression enforced by Argentina’s ruling classes and ted by Héctor Olivera exposing the massacre of patrician families, he was censured, harassed and Patagonian peasant labourers. threatened. He was forced into exile and was one of In 2008 he wrote the screenplay and illustrated book the voices outside the country denouncing the state published by Pagina/12. Called Awka Liwen and co- repression of the most recent civilian-military dictator- produced with Mariano Aiello and Kristina Hille, it ship. Upon coming home in the 1980s, he stood by his reported on the confiscation of the lands of native and beliefs. He published his articles in Pagina/12. He peasant communities and on the destruction of the showed up at every protest by workers, peasants and soil. Because of it he was prosecuted (unsuccessfully) native communities. Championship of ethics and by the family of the dictatorship’s Economy minister, human rights was his forte. He was 91 years of age. José Martínez de Hoz, which later prompted the mak- His oeuvre and his example are as relevant as ever. ing of another documentary, Martinez de Hoz. The news of Bayer’s death was confirmed by his In 1963 in the town of Rauch (Buenos Aires) he daughter Ana on the writer’s Facebook page; “Some sponsored a popular campaign to have the town’s very sad news; my Dad has died.” This was also name altered, from the name of that Prussian colonel spelled out in German and (Friedrich/ Federico Rauch) in Italian, in recognition of to ‘Arbolito’, the name of the ties that the author of the Ranquel Indian who Rebellion in Patagonia had claimed his life. That led to to the countries where he his being arrested. The order had spent part of his life. for his arrest came from a Anarchist, historian, General Juan Enrique journalist, Osvaldo was Rauch, the dictatorship’s born on 18 February 1927 in Interior minister and great- Santa Fe province, Argen- grandson of Federico Rauch. tina. He studied History at In addition to human Hamburg University in Ger- rights activities and cam- many and the very first art- paigning to have the geno- icles shaping what became cides carried out by the his profile were published in recent military dictatorship Noticias Gráficas and in La acknowledged, there was Chispa, the latter being the another campaign that made Patagonian paper he foun- him one of the most ded during the 1950s. He emblematic spokesmen; his also worked for Clarín. campaign to have the Monu- From 1959 until 1962 he ment to Roca sited on the headed the Press Union and Diagonal Sur (a tribute to was until recently honorary the Argentinean ex-president secretary of the Press who ordered the slaughter of Employees’ Union of thousands of native Buenos Aires (SIPEREBA). communities which the Inside – Anarchist periodicals – the Spanish Resistance official histories record as “the Conquest of the – Acratie and Atelier de creation libertaire – to bring Desert”) relocated. Bayer asked for a monument to the book out (in French) in January 1996 as Rebel be erected to native women instead. In 2007, on foot Patagonia (1921-1923): Chronicle of a Farmwork- of that campaign, the council of the town of Rojas ers’ Revolt in Argentina. (Buenos Aires) renamed the erstwhile Julio Later on, in conversation with Maria Esther Tello, Argentino Roca Street “Native Peoples” Street. I found out that Bayer had contacted the Argentinian Lobbying had come from the pupils at local schools, anarchist publishers of La Protesta asking for assist- prompted by Bayer’s researches. There are currently ance in making contact with some former expropriat- many such projects under way. ors. At the time, Bayer was a journalist contributing In 1984 Bayer was awarded the Konex Prize and to the review Todo es Historia, run by Felix Luna. in 2003 the Universidad Nacional del Centro awar- Given the slant of that review, not the best creden- ded him the title of Doctor Honoris Causa on the tials. Maria Esther, being a member of the La Prot- basis of his human rights record, his literary writings esta publishing board, took the line that Bayer, as a and his journalism. He received the same award from journalist with an interest in anarchist activities, the national universities in Córdoba (2009), Quilmes deserved a definite answer and she supplied Bayer (2009), San Luis (2006), Del Sur (2007), Del with contacts with Emilio Uriondo. Like her chil- Comahue (1999) and San Juan (2011). dren, Maria Esther had known Uriondo for years as Given his ill health he turned up in a wheelchair to they were all anarchists from La Plata. support the recent 24 March demonstration. He had While I was visiting Buenos Aires and La Plata, I suffered a few household accidents and age-related made no attempt to meet up with Osvaldo Bayer afflictions. But even so, there was a never-ending because he was part of the circle around [Mothers of parade of students, writers, journalist and anyone else the Plaza de Mayo] Hebe de Bonafini and unduly so minded calling on him at his home in the Belgrano deferential towards her and the president, Kirchner. I district of Buenos Aires – which his friend, the writer know that in 2012 Osvaldo severed his connections and journalist Osvaldo Soriano once dubbed “The with Hebe and her crowd and that struck me as Shack”. excellent, albeit belated. From Pagina/12, reprinted on the Obviously, having read and translated Rebellion in rojoynegrodigital website, Trans. Paul Sharkey. Patagonia, I was a fan of Osvaldo’s contribution and Image credit Eduardo Montes-Bradley rescue efforts, not merely in the form of his books https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Osvaldo_B but in terms of his disinterested assistance to ven- ayer.jpg ■ tures and projects related to libertarian matters in Argentina. There is no separating Osvaldo Bayer’s output Osvaldo Bayer 1927-2018: from the annals of Argentinean and world anarchism, as is evident from the titles: In Memoriam. Severino Di Giovanni, Violent Idealist I was not acquainted with Osvaldo Bayer himself but The 4 volumes of Avengers of Tragic Patagonia I did translate Rebellion in Patagonia (a synthesis of The Anarchist Expropriators and Other Essays. his 4-volume Avengers of Rebel Patagonia) into Frank Mintz, 24.12.18 Trans. PS ■ French. That was a project eagerly backed by some (Paris-based) friends, Jorge Peries and Eduardo Colombo. Since they were unfamiliar with quite a Alan MacSimoin 1957-2018 number of gaucho jargon terms used in the book, I The Kate Sharpley Library collective are saddened to turned to Osvaldo Bayer who very kindly clarified pass on news of the death of Irish anarchist and the meanings for me. historian Alan MacSimoin. Coming from Irish When the translation was finished in 1990, I Republicanism to anarchism in the 1970s, he offered the book to all the French publishing houses belonged to the Murrays Defence Committee, the with a record of publishing books on Latin America. Dublin Anarchist Group, the Anarchist Workers They either failed to respond or ruled it out: “Unfor- Alliance and helped found the Workers Solidarity tunately, the topic of the book is far removed from Movement in 1984. today’s concerns and from French historical and liter- The Workers Solidarity Movement said “The ary interests”, to quote Annie Morvan from the Le WSM are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of Seuil publishing house back on 17 October 1990. the death of Alan MacSimoin, one of our founder That was pure business argument: the Berlin Wall members, a friend, and a key central figure in had come down and the shop windows were building the anarchist movement in Ireland for over swamped with books about the other face of really four decades. Alan had not been a member of WSM existing socialism. Latin America had fallen out of for some years but remained politically active right fashion. to the end. His last Facebook post on November 29th In the end I managed to get two anarchist imprints was supporting the locked out bricklayers at Mary’s 2 Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library Mansions. Alan will be sorely missed by all in the cease to strive to realise our vision. If we settle for WSM and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his anything less, then we are little more than beasts of family and friends.” burden at the service of the privileged few, without Some of his historical work can be seen at his Irish much to gain from life other than a lighter load, Anarchist History project website better feed and a cosier berth. https://irishanarchisthistory.wordpress.com/ Ultimately, only struggle determines outcome, and We at the KSL send our condolences to his family, progress towards a more meaningful community friends and comrades must begin with the will to resist every form of injustice.