Alceste De Ambris

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Alceste De Ambris
Filippo Marinetti
)

Alceste De Ambris (15 September 1874 – 9 December 1934) was an Italian

revolutionary syndicalism
in Italy.

Early life and involvement with socialism

De Ambris was born in

Mazzinian Republican and from an early age De Ambris showed an interest in politics. The miserable condition of the Lunigiana workers and their struggles led him to join socialism at the age of 18, becoming a militant and propagandist for the Italian Socialist Party in 1892 and taking part in the formation of numerous socialist circles in his region, especially those in Aulla and La Spezia, of which he was a member.[1]

In 1893, at the age of 19, he enrolled in the law course at the

Italian colonial wars in Africa and in 1896 he was targeted by the authorities and accused of defamation in the press.[3]

In 1897, he was called up for compulsory military service in La Spezia, where he tried to

Greco-Turkish War of 1897. De Ambris believed that Greece had established "a community of the free and equal, animated by fraternity and solidarity and capable of sacrifice", representing what he wanted to build in Italy. He used the Greek example in opposition to conservative Italian nationalism, affirming an idea of solidarity with oppressed peoples fighting for freedom.[4] Although some sources claim that De Ambris was arrested for attempted desertion, others claim that he suffered no such punishment.[5]

In 1898, he was involved in writing the newspaper La Terra, whose articles denounced the conditions of the peasants of Massa-Carrara, who had almost all their time taken up by work, to which they devoted 10 hours in winter and 15 in summer, on land that was not always fertile.[1] In the same year, a series of popular protests against the rising price of bread took place in Italy.[6] De Ambris was once again called up for military service to suppress the protests, but he didn't show up and, to escape arrest, he expatriated clandestinely to France, where he met other Italians fleeing repression. He went to Cannes and then to Marseille, where he worked for a few months in the port and lived with difficulties.[7] The Florence Military Court sentenced him to a year's imprisonment for desertion. De Ambris then left for Brazil.[8]

His first stay in Brazil and the Avanti!

1st edition of Avanti! The periodical was first published in São Paulo on October 20, 1900 and ran until 1919, with some interruptions.

De Ambris arrived in

coffee plantations and travelled on one of the trains that took the workers to the plantations, departing from the Hospedaria dos Imigrantes, in Brás, and helped the immigrants to organize themselves into associations and syndicates.[9]

In 1900, he took part in the founding of the socialist newspaper

action and organization of the working class. In the following issue, Bertolotti, in response, argued that workers organizations had the aim of raising wages and improving the lives of the working class, but that this should not lead to the conclusion that economic associations should disregard the role of the state and the party and that workers organizations could not and should not, in a way, exert pressure on them.[13] Despite the polemics, the socialist idea of the need for a trade union for economic struggles and a party for political struggles prevailed in Avanti!.[12] De Ambris himself, at a socialist congress held between May 30 and June 2, 1902, defended electoral action, declaring the need for socialists to register on electoral lists and inviting foreigners to abandon nationalism and become naturalized in order to enjoy the right to vote.[14]

He was also an active member of the Lega Democratica Italiana and the Circolo Socialista Avanti! in the same period, and held several conferences in the city of São Paulo. He also made a number of propaganda trips to the interior of the state, where he helped to found socialist leagues and clubs.

Campos Sales, then President of the Republic of Brazil.[18]

Alceste and his brother Angelo were in São Paulo when they received the news that their mother had died unexpectedly. The editors of Avanti! sent affectionate greetings to both of them.[19] In September 1901, he stepped down as editor of the newspaper, arguing that he wanted to devote more time to propaganda and start work on the Socialist Almanac for 1902, which was published a few months later with texts, portraits and caricatures. This almanac featured an introduction written by De Ambris, a text entitled "Integral Socialism" by the socialist Enrico Ferri, a text on socialism by Estevam Estrella, some poetry and short stories by Giovanni Cena, Raul Pompeia, Edmondo De Amicis and De Ambris himself, entitled "La rivolta (scene della vita di fazenda)", which told the story of Angelo Longaretti and the difficulties of rural work, which led this settler to the extreme gesture of murdering the farmer.[20] In 1902, he returned to the management of Avanti! and took part in a socialist congress held between the end of May and the beginning of June that year.[21]

In April 1903, the São Paulo court sentenced him to 4 months and 20 days in prison for defamation through the press against industrialist Nicola Matarazzo. His brother Alfredo, who was a lawyer, defended Alceste during the expulsion process, seeking to have the case reviewed by the Supreme Court in Rio de Janeiro so that the sentence could be overturned. However, given that his conviction for desertion had been amnestied, De Ambris preferred to return to Italy.[22]

Approximation with revolutionary syndicalism and the Parma strike of 1908

In

metalworkers. At the end of 1904, he moved from Savona to the secretariat of the National Glassmakers' Federation, based in Livorno, Tuscany, then one of the most militant associations in Italy.[23] Even from a distance, he also coordinated the work of Italian socialists in Brazil and was a correspondent for the newspaper Fanfulla.[24][25]

During this period, he became close to

reformist socialism.[32]

De Ambris spent a brief period in

tenants in the region.[35]

Under the leadership of Alceste De Ambris, the Parma Chamber of Labor declared a general strike on May 1, 1908, in response to the owners who were trying to disregard the gains made the previous year, such as the enforcement of contracts,

right of association.[36] The strike involved around 30,000 workers from various municipalities in the province of Parma.[37] The local bourgeoisie and landowners reacted violently to the movement, clashing with the workers.[35] In the first days of the strike, the Socialist Party, the General Confederation of Labor (CGL) and the National Federation of Agricultural Workers (Federterra) took positions in support of the strikers, but avoided intervening in the conflict.[38] The paralyzed workers, for their part, refused to negotiate with the owners through representatives of the CGL and Federterra, adopting methods of direct action to obtain the improvements and rights they were demanding.[37] After 50 days on strike, the owners hired workers from other regions to replace the strikers. There were clashes around the train station, where some demonstrators tried to prevent the scabs from disembarking.[38] In the working class district of Oltretorrente, the police clashed with the workers, who declared a general strike. Workers from the countryside also went to the city and there were clashes with the cavalry. The Socialist Party and the CGL tried unsuccessfully to convince the workers not to join the call for a general strike. In the face of the repression that followed the movement, the union headquarters were raided and all those present were arrested.[38] At the end of July, the Agrarian Association made it possible to return to work, and only a few areas remained in turmoil.[39] During this period, De Ambris received the news of the death of his only sister, Irma, at the age of 30.[40]

At the end of the strike, the Parma Royal Prosecutor's Office prosecuted the syndicalists, accusing them of having promoted and attempted an

Jesus Christ.[43]

The second time in Brazil and La Scure

De Ambris managed to avoid arrest during the repression that followed the Parma strike and left for

Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT), held in October 1908.[44] He then came to Brazil for the second time, invited by Vitaliano Rotellini to run the newspaper La Tribuna Italiana, guaranteeing respect for his ideas and principles. Rotellini sent the money and De Ambris arrived in Brazil at the end of 1908.[45]

De Ambris remained at the helm of La Tribuna Italiana for ten months, receiving criticism from Italian industrialists based in

press. It declared itself to be the only Italian-language newspaper published in Brazil that was absolutely independent and free of any interest or party ties, criticizing the consular and diplomatic representatives maintained by Italy in Brazil and its institutions, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Dante Alighieri school and the Colonial Institute, controlled by conservative monarchists.[46]

As well as running La Scure, De Ambris made a series of propaganda trips to the interior of the state of São Paulo, giving talks in Campinas, Ribeirão Preto, Jardinópolis, Sertãozinho, Jaboticabal, Araraquara, São Carlos, Bauru, São Manuel and Botucatu, where he spoke on topics such as mutualism, resistance, cooperation and syndicalism.[47]

In the issue of May 21, 1910, La Scure announced that, for work reasons, De Ambris was going to Rio de Janeiro, where he would only stay for a few weeks. However, he ended up staying in Rio for longer, where he continued to write La Scure and worked at the Havas Information Agency.[48] During his time in Rio, he joined a group of bohemian writers that included Olavo Bilac, and even wrote a novel, which was published in chapters in São Paulo's Avanti!. After his stay in Rio de Janeiro and shaken by the death of his brother Alfredo from yellow fever, De Ambris left for France in 1911.[49]

Return to Italy, participation in the First World War and Fiume expedition

Filippo Corridoni, Alceste De Ambris, Tullio Masotti, Pulvio Zocchi, Alberto Meschi and Giuseppe Di Vittorio, the founders of the Unione Sindacale Italiana (USI) in 1912.

On arriving in Europe, De Ambris was in

king, the bankers, the army and the Vatican.[50] For him, national syndicalism that tried to identify the interests of the proletariat with those of militarism "was already condemned to death".[51] Faced with the controversy caused between pro-war and anti-war syndicalists, a bloc formed with the Parma group that was inclined to split from the CGL and form a new syndicalism body.[52] Although a considerable part of the syndicalism movement considered it important to save the unity of the workers organization, the advocates of separation reached a consensus throughout 1912, which was consummated in November with the creation of the Unione Sindacale Italiana (USI), which was initially joined by 80,000 workers.[53] Alceste De Ambris was one of its leaders.[49]

rally
in Parma in 1913.

In October 1913, he was elected to the legislature of

progressive forces. His project, however, received criticism from all sides, especially the syndicaliists, who saw it as a move away from De Ambris.[56]

With the outbreak of the

Unione Italiana del Lavoro (UIL), which aimed to unite workers who wanted to develop their action independently of any political party and taking into account the general conditions of development and freedom in Italy, stating that they should not renounce their homeland, "but conquer it by radically renewing its institutions". This organization was initially supported by De Ambris, and Edmondo Rossoni was its secretary.[58] Many of the UIL's leaders and militants, including Rossoni, converted to fascism.[59] In the same year, in co-authorship with the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti he wrote The Manifesto of the Italian Fasces of Combat
.

When

constitution of Fiume, the so-called Carta del Carnaro.[63]

Flag of the Italian Regency of Carnaro.

De Ambris's text for the constitution of the so-called

Lenin advised an alliance of the Soviet Union with Carnaro's Italian Regency.[69]

In addition to drafting the Fiume constitution, De Ambris was also the secretary for civil affairs of the Liberation Army Command and was appointed chief of staff of the Dannunzian command on June 10, 1920. He worked to disrupt relations between the Fiume legionnaires and the fascists, seeking the support of the workers movement. After the Treaty of Rapallo and the repression of the Fiume expedition on December 24, 1920, De Ambris tried to keep the former legionaries together, trying to prevent them from falling under fascist and nationalist influence. However, D'Annunzio himself ended up converting to fascism.[69]

Exile and last years

De Ambris had collaborated with

Fasci di Combattimento and soon took a clearly anti-fascist stance, associating with Arditi del Popolo.[70] With the rise of fascism, De Ambris took part in the clashes between the workers of Parma and Italo Balbo's fascist squads in August 1922.[71] On December 20, 1922, he was violently removed from the streetcar he was on in Genoa, beaten up and taken to the police station, accused of anti-fascist incitement.[72] After this, he went into exile in France, together with his partner Maria, her daughter and her husband. Mussolini still tried to convince him to collaborate with fascism between 1923 and 1924, but De Ambris refused.[73]

In his last exile, he lived in poverty and worked as a

Italian citizenship because of his anti-fascist activities. Between 1927 and 1934, he maintained constant correspondence with his niece Irma.[74] In many of his letters, he wrote under a false name, as he was constantly under surveillance by the fascist government and his correspondence was often intercepted.[76]

Tomb of Alceste De Ambris.

On December 9, 1934, De Ambris invited a group of friends to his home to discuss a work plan for the LIDU, bringing together anarchists, socialists and Italian republicans in exile. A few hours after the meeting, he died. The Paris newspaper Le Peuple reported his death on December 13, 1934.[77] On the tomb that the Parma workers built for De Ambris in the Brive-la-Gaillarde cemetery, Campolonghi wrote the following epigraph:[78]

Alceste De Ambris. Writer. Orator. Fighter. Heroic conductor of crowds. Licciana 1874 - Brive 1934. He refused comfort and bent over misery to console and redeem it. Born an Italian, he died a citizen of the world. A wandering knight of the ideal, he remained in exile here, where the stone that protects his body cries out in his name love for rebels, hatred for tyrants.

In 1964, his remains were taken from France to the Della Villetta cemetery in Italy, with celebrations being held in the city of Parma, attended by local authorities and syndicalist organizations.[79][79]

References

  1. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 166.
  2. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 168.
  3. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 167.
  4. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 170.
  5. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 253.
  6. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 103-104.
  7. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 171.
  8. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 172.
  9. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 172–173.
  10. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 173.
  11. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 174–175.
  12. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 175.
  13. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 189–190.
  14. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 191–192.
  15. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 180–181.
  16. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 186.
  17. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 187.
  18. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 188.
  19. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 189.
  20. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 190–191.
  21. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 191.
  22. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 192.
  23. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 193.
  24. ^ De Felice 1966, p. 13.
  25. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 196.
  26. ^ De Felice 1966, p. 12.
  27. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 194.
  28. ^ a b c d Toledo 2004, p. 197.
  29. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 194–195.
  30. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 199–200.
  31. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 104–105.
  32. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 199.
  33. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 198–199.
  34. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 203.
  35. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 113.
  36. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 113–114.
  37. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 114.
  38. ^ a b c Toledo 2004, p. 115.
  39. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 116.
  40. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 259.
  41. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 117.
  42. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 118.
  43. ^ Sereni 1979, p. 100.
  44. ^ Gestri 1977, p. 215.
  45. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 207.
  46. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 207–208.
  47. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 208–209.
  48. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 221.
  49. ^ a b c d Toledo 2004, p. 222.
  50. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 223.
  51. ^ a b c Toledo 2004, p. 224.
  52. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 122.
  53. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 123.
  54. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 157.
  55. ^ Furiozzi 1977, pp. 55–56.
  56. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 225.
  57. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 123–124.
  58. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 231.
  59. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 232.
  60. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 227–228.
  61. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 229–230.
  62. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 233.
  63. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 234.
  64. ^ De Felice 1966, pp. 79–87.
  65. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 236.
  66. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 235.
  67. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 237.
  68. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 238.
  69. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 239.
  70. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 240–241.
  71. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 240.
  72. ^ Toledo 2004, pp. 241–242.
  73. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 243.
  74. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 245.
  75. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 244.
  76. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 246.
  77. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 249.
  78. ^ Toledo 2004, p. 250.
  79. ^ a b Toledo 2004, p. 251.

Bibliography

  • De Felice, Renzo (1966). Sindacalismo rivoluzionario e fiumanesimo nel carteggio De Ambris-D'Annunzio (in Italian). Brescia: Morcelliana.
  • Furiozzi, Gian Bagio (1977). Il sindacalismo rivoluzionario italiano (in Italian). Milão: Mursia.
    ISBN 978-8842593560
    .
  • Gestri, Lorenzo (1977). "Note bibliographiche, appunti provvisori, un testo e un documento per servire ad una biografia di Alceste de Ambris". Cronaca e storia di Val di Magra. VI: 181–232.
  • Sereni, Umberto (1979). Il processo ai sindacalisti parmensi (Lucca, aprile-maggio 1909) (in Italian). Lucca: Pacini.
  • Toledo, Edilene (2004). Travessias revolucionárias: Idéias e militantes sindicalistas em São Paulo e na Itália (1890-1945). Campinas: Editora UNICAMP.
    ISBN 9788526806931
    .

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