La Confederación General de Trabajadores y el anarquismo chileno de los años 30

Summary

During this period Anarchism was concentrated in the General Confederation of Workers (Confederación General de Trabajadores CGT). Although the remnants of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and other non labor anarchist organizations were still in existence. Anarchists were numerous in the construction and printing trades. Their organizations were almost nonexistant in the North, but were evident in Santiago and Central Chile. In general, the CGT was at loggerheads with the governments of the period. In the second half of the decade, the relative revival of anarchism was overshadowed by the strengthening of the Reformist Left which, at a national level, sponsored the formation of the Confederation of Chilean Workers (Confederación de Trabajadores de Chile CTCh) and the Popular Front. Although the unión activities of the CGT were based on "direct action", they were, generally speaking, of a pragmatic and economic nature. The decline of Anarchims was helped about, amoung other factors, by its own ideological and organic weakness, repression, the development of labour laws, the changes in the political system and the growth of Marxist parties. The significance of Anarchism in Chile lies mainly as the sympton of an age, in its effects on society and its influence on other political and labor tendencies.