Thursday, June 5, 2008

Lucio Urtubia: Expropriation and Liberation


As I rode my bike to work beneath Denver's towers of greed, splashed by SUVs driven by glaring, rich drones scowling at my audacity to bike in the rain, I felt a deep hatred for capitalism and a love of people who struggled for a better way. After checking email, making coffee, and piddling through my daily routine, I found an email from filmmaker Marie Trigona from Grupo Alavio and Agora TV.

She had written an article about Spanish anarchist Lucio Urtubia, a master of expropriation. Lucio engaged in a variety of bank robberies and most notably a check-writing scam that cost CitiBank (an organization that has expropriated the hell out of my pocketbook) millions of dollars. Clearly, Lucio's life as a revolutionary, a mass expropriator, and a bona fide anarchist is inspirational to all who believe that banks have stolen from the people. For those who believe capitalists wealth could be better used by popular struggle, you will love Trigona's story.

Lucio defines the anarchist as follows: "The anarchist is a person who is good at heart, responsible." As we determine how to liberate ourselves from this ecologically catastrophic police state known as The United States, expropriation may be one of the only ways to allow our movements to avoid being manipulated by wealthy people through foundations, major donations, and bribery.

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