International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Born in León in northwestern Spain to a poor family, Buenaventura Durruti emerged as one of the most prominent anarchist militants in Spain prior to and during the Spanish Revolution . In death he would become a symbol of commitment to anarchist principles in opposition to compromise and reformism. Durruti stressed libertarian communist principles as an organizational priority, advocating the development of cores of dedicated anarchists within a revolutionary movement, even if their numbers were small, rather than a mass movement of workers only minimally influenced or committed to anarchist ideals. This position has influenced generations of anarchocommunists , including present-day advocates of platformist anarchism and especifismo. Durruti was a leading militant within the Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI), a semi-secret organization of anarchocommunists within the anarchosyndicalist Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT). The FAI formed on affinity group structure consisting of small nuclei of about a dozen friends who met to develop theoretical and tactical positions to maintain and pursue anarchist principles. The FAI is credited as highly influential in developing the CNT as a revolutionary organization. Durruti was a fierce advocate of direct action protest tactics and understood the violence of popular insurrections as a necessary element of the radical overthrow ... log in or subscribe to read full text