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<font size=3>Lucio, The Good Bandit: Reflections of an Anarchist
<br><br>
<a href="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1393/32/" eudora="autourl">
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1393/32/<br><br>
</a>Written by Marie Trigona <br>
Wednesday, 23 July 2008 <br><br>
</font><font face="georgia" size=3>Source:
<a href="http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1332/1/">Toward
Freedom</a><br><br>
Lucio Urtubia could be described as a modern day Robin Hood, a man who
stole from the rich to give to the poor. Lucio, a 76-year old Spanish
anarchist and retired bricklayer carried out bank robberies, forgeries
and endless actions against capitalism. His actions helped to fund
liberation movements in Europe, the US and Latin America. <br><br>
Outspoken and charismatic, Lucio speaks like a true anarchist. When asked
what it means to be an anarchist, Lucio refutes the misperception of the
terrorist, "The anarchist is a person who is good at heart,
responsible." Yet he makes no apologies for the need to destroy the
current social order, "it’s good to destroy certain things, because
you build things to replace them."<br><br>
Lucio has old friends in the Southern Cone. Funds from the forgery
operatives helped hundreds from revolutionary organizations exile and
finance clandestine actions against the bloody dictatorships which
disappeared ten thousands of activists, students and workers during the
1970's throughout Latin America. In Uruguay, funds from falsified
Citibank travelers’ checks funded the guerilla group Tupamaros, in the US
the Black Panthers and other revolutionary groups throughout Europe.
<br><br>
During his recent visit to South America, Lucio stayed at the worker run
BAUEN Hotel in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires. He was astounded by the
accomplishments of the workers without bosses. At the BAUEN hotel,
workers are putting into practice workers autogestíon or self-management.
Self-management has been a mainstay of anarchist thought since the birth
of capitalism. Rather than authority – obey relationship between
capitalists and workers, self-management implies that workers put into
practice an egalitarian system in which people collectively decide,
produce and control their own destinies for the benefit of the community.
But for such a system to work, participants have to be hard working and
responsible, one of the most important attributes a man or woman should
have according to Lucio. "The anarchist movement was built by
workers. Without work we can’t talk about self-management, to put
self-management into practice we need to know how to do things, to work.
It’s easy to be bohemian."<br><br>
Lucio explains that his anarchism is based in his poor childhood in
fascist Spain. "My anarchist origins are rooted in my experience
growing up in a poor family. My father was leftist, had gone to jail
because he wanted the automony of the Basque country. For me that’s not
revolution, I’m not nationalist. With nationalism humanity has committed
a lot of mistakes. When my father got out of jail he became a socialist.
We suffered a lot. I went to look for bread and the baker wouldn’t give
it to me, because we didn’t have money. For me poverty enriched me, I
didn’t have to make any effort to lose respect for the establishment, the
Church, private property and the State." <br><br>
In Spain, fascism persevered 30 years after the end of World War II.
Hundreds were placed in jail for resisting the Franco dictatorship.
Anthropologists have estimated that from the onset of the Spanish Civil
War in July 1936 to Franco’s death in November 1975, Franco's
Nationalists killed between 75,000 and 150,000 supporters of the
Republic. <br><br>
Lucio exiled to France where he discovered anarchism. He had deserted the
nationalist army and escaped to France. Paris in the 1960’s was a
bourgeoning city for anarchist intellectuals, organizers and guerillas in
exile. It was there that Lucio met members from the anarcho-syndicalist
trade union, Confederación Nacional de Trabajo (CNT). He was anxious to
participate. <br><br>
During his early years in France, Lucio met Francisco Sabate, the
legendary anarchist and guerilla extraordinaire. At this time Sabate,
otherwise known by his nickname "El Quico" was the most sought
after anarchist by the Franco regime. French police were also looking for
Sabate, who led resistance against Franquismo. "When I met Quico, I
was participating in the Juventud Libertarias. They asked me if I could
help Sabate, me an ignorant, I didn’t know who he was." Sabate used
Lucio’s house as a hide out. The young Lucio, listened to Sabate’s tales
of direct action and absorbed whatever wisdom he had to offer, like
methods for sniffing out infiltrators. "I met guerillas that put me
on the road to direct action and expropriations. Sabate taught me to lose
respect for private property."<br><br>
It was then that Lucio began participating in bank robberies. "There
are no bigger crooks than the banks," says Lucio in the defense of
expropriation. "[This was the] only means the anarchist had, without
funding from industry or government representatives to fund them. The
money was sent to those suffering from Franco’s regime." Student
organizations and worker organizations received the funds to carry out
grass roots organizing. In other cases the money was used for the
guerilla actions against Franco’s regime, such as campaigns for the
release of political prisoners in the nationalist jails. <br><br>
To save the lives of exiles, Lucio thought of a master plan to falsify
passports so Spanish nationals could travel. "Passports for a
refugee means being able to escape the country and lead safe lives
elsewhere," he explains. Not only in Europe but in the US and South
America, dissidents used false ID’s to lead their lives and direct
actions. <br><br>
In 1977, Lucio’s group began forging checks as a direct form to finance
resistance. Lucio was essentially the "boss" of the
operationhe made, distributed and cashed the checks. The checks were
harder to falsify than counterfeit bills. Lucio thought they should
target the largest banking institution in the world, National City Bank.
The distribution of the checks went to different subversive groups who
used the funds to finance solidarity actions. Lucio explains that
"no one got rich" from the checks. Most of the funds went to
the cause. All over Europe, these checks with the same code number were
cashed at the same time. <br><br>
Lucio’s master plan cost City Bank tens of millions of dollars in forged
travelers’ checks. But many say a much larger sum was expropriated. City
Bank was at the mercy of the forger, who had cost so much that the bank
had to suspend travelers checks, ruining the holiday for thousands of
tourists. At the time, people did not use check cards or credit cards.
Lucio was arrested in 1980 and found with a suitcase full of the forged
checks. In the meantime during Lucio’s arrest, Citibank continued to
receive false travelers’ checks. <br><br>
Citbank became worried. Representatives from the bank agreed to
negotiate. Lucio would be released if he handed over the printing plates
for the forged checks. The exchange was made, and Lucio became a legend
for his mastermind plan. Although his life as a forger ended at
50-years-of-age, his life as an anarchist continued. <br><br>
Lucio had always worked as a bricklayer. "What’s helped me the most
is my work, Anarchists were always workers." Lucio–bricklayer,
anarchist, forger and expropriator has left a legacy like his
predecessors. "People like Loise Michel, Sabate, Durruti, all the
expropriators taught me how to expropriate, but not for personal gain,
but how to use those riches for change." At 76-years-of-age he does
not apologize for his actions. "I’ve expropriated, which according
to the Christian religion is a sin. For me expropriations are necessary.
As the revolutionaries say, robbing and expropriation is a revolutionary
act as long as one doesn’t benefit from it."<br><br>
<i>Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and filmmaker based in
Argentina. Lucio is one of the most fascinating people she has met in her
experience interviewing people. She can be reached at
<a href="mailto:mtrigona@msn.com">mtrigona@msn.com</a><br><br>
<br><br>
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