After more than a decade, the publication Refractario comes to an end, and with it we close the door to this project.
We have delayed these final words and the necessary closure of this project, thinking about resuming it or giving it new formats, but it is imperative to leave some words next to the door before closing. A project built with so much effort and affection deserves a decent closure.
In July 2012 we started this counter-informative project. We generated a materiality in paper that lasted eight issues (from 2012 to 2014), and we also published 5 special issues. Undoubtedly, the heart of our project was the website. In it converged various dimensions of the anti-prison field: news, contingencies, calls, propaganda, reflections, material of interest, memory and practical information.
Throughout 11 years, the project operated, far exceeding the initial objectives. We maintained the rhythm of publication, the space for reflection and positioning at different junctures, while on the other hand the feedback from comrades who translated texts, sent communiqués and fed informal discussions within the anarchist movement made Refractario a useful, current and active tool.
Throughout this period we rejoiced with the release of several comrades from prison, accompanied the trial of many and maintained strong solidarity agitation with several who are still behind bars. Several campaigns managed to internationalize thanks to projects like this one, which allowed us to inform, disseminate and position the urgency in other latitudes. The intention was always to become a space to find accurate information, as well as to open the discussion on so many issues that in these years have strained the anti-authoritarian environments linked to prison, trials and repression.
At the end of January 2006, the counter-information web page “Palabras de Guerra” (Words of War) said goodbye to the virtual world at that time. We highlight some of the reasons that led to its closure, as expressed in its farewell communiqué:
– Excessive volume of information, in most cases superfluous, a reflection of the Western society of excess.
– Accelerated publication rhythms, confronted with natural rhythms.
– An immediatism that generates the need to be constantly informed.
– The emergence of a revolutionary subject whose militancy is based primarily on the Internet.
(The full text is still available here) Continue reading “Chile: We close the door. Publicación Refractario comes to an end.”