anarchism

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Update on Yorch: Saying Goodbye

Translated from the Spanish-language post on the Auditorio Che Facebook page.
Learn more about Mexican anarchist political prisoner Jorge “Yorch” Esquivel here.

UPDATE: At 11:30am on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, beloved compa Jorge “Yorch” Esquivel passed on. More information will be made available in time.

December 6, 2025, 3:40pm

Dear family, compas, friends, and community:

Thank you very much for all your letters, love, and solidarity with our beloved Yorch. We have read each and every one of your messages and we are very grateful because we know that he hears us and knows that he is not alone.

We want to share with you that our compañero’s health has become more delicate every day. Even with the dignified attention that he is finally receiving and the enormous and loving efforts made by doctors and hospital personnel charged with his treatment, due to the advanced state of deterioration he was in upon arriving at the hospital – where he is now – it has been very complex attending to his urgent condition. After the long period of medical neglect, the effects of the damned prison on all facets of prisoners’ health – and more in this case, where the violence of the State and UNAM orchestrated repression against him – and his prior medical issues which themselves paint a picture of potential complications due to his hospitalization, multiple surgeries, and irreversible damage suffered in 2019 when Yorch survived appendicitis that was not treated in time.

Sadly, our compañero now does not have the possibility of recovering a dignified quality of life and he has a very high probability of remaining in the state he is in now and due to the risks presented by the procedures and treatments indicated by his clinical state in the coming days. During recent weeks, Yorch was wandering from site to site without precise information. We did not receive clear news regarding his condition, treatment, or anything else. The prison authorities and those of the various hospitals where he has been this past month did not inform us of the severity of his condition until he arrived at the current hospital and we learned minutes before they had to intubate him – due to neurological failures that don’t allow for him to breathe unaided – that this was just a small part of the series of complications he has. The situation took us completely by surprise.

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Elections: The house always wins

“No to the political parties’ electoral process.”

Those to the left of the varied strains of normative fascism that pass for mainstream political discourse in the United States nowadays have likely been inundated with celebratory messages and reports of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral elections yesterday. By all accounts, today the air is a little fresher as we are all lifted up by the winds of change because around one million people in a corner of what is called the U.S. voted for a “democratic socialist,” whatever that means anymore. Faith in democracy and electoral politics abound as the “right” or “good” candidate won this time. Mamdani is the exception that proves the rule that the system works. Nagging doubts about the validity of representative democracy as a means to order our social and political lives have been put to rest. Hope has been restored. But there is a thin line between hope and naivety. I propose the following be considered alongside any rejoicing.

Nobody won. There are almost 4.7 million “active registered voters” in NYC out of a population of 8.48 million. Only two million or so people voted. Meaning the vast majority of New Yorkers, including registered voters, did not vote. As in every election, most people couldn’t be bothered to engage in the charade of casting a vote. Mamdani didn’t win. Nobody won. Nobody represents us. Nobody should be in office.

Mamdani’s victory isn’t news. He was the Democratic candidate in a Democratic city running an iteration of “The Rent is Too Damn High” campaign in a place where rent costs an average of $4,000 per month. It would be nonsensical for him not to win when almost two-thirds of registered NYC voters are Democrats. (Yes, yes, I get it, the party  and media machines were against him.) The heavens haven’t opened; politics have just played out as politics play out. Despite the overwhelming odds in his favor, Mamdani only won 50% of the vote. Andrew Cuomo, whose own shadow wouldn’t even vote for him, still managed to get more than 850,000 votes. This wasn’t a runaway victory or a landslide endorsement of democratic socialism or, even less, a statement on U.S. foreign policy. It was a Democrat winning where the Democrat always wins.

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Conversation with Non Serviam Media

Last month, I had the opportunity to chat with Lucy with the Non Serviam Media team about a variety of topics, from organizing, anarchism, academia, and the importance of an anti-colonial framework in doing political work. If you’re interested in hearing me prattle on for 90 minutes or so, here’s your opportunity! It can be listened to below or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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Zines for these times

Photos courtesy of Cindy Barukh Milstein

9/13/25 Update: Another zine from Cindy has been published that also includes a contribution by me. Check out The Heart is a Muscle: 19 Embodiments of Antifascist Grief here.

How to make sense of this moment, survive and resist in this moment, and hold ourselves and one another up during this moment are all important and pressing concerns to many of us. Over the past several months, dear comrade Cindy Barukh Milstein (Mastodon; Instagram) has been editing and crafting zine-based interventions that speak directly to those matters.

At their kind invitation, I have had the honor of submitting short pieces to two of them. Rather than excising my own words from their context and placing them alone here, I wanted to encourage those who are interested to explore the two zines – and others! – in their entirety.

The first is Anarchist Compass: 29 Offerings for Navigating Christofascism. As Cindy writes, this zine is “an act of love and solidarity. It is intended for everyone who sees themselves on the side of antifascism, including those who’ve newly had their eyes opened. It’s especially dedicated to those who, in myriad ways, rebelliously, collectively, and bravely care for each other.”

The second is Everyday Antifascism: 14 Ways that Solidarity Keeps Us Safer. Again, Cindy states, “This zine does not offer sugarcoated ‘hope’ to somehow smooth over these utterly distasteful times. Yet I believe strongly in cracks in the edifice of hierarchical power and the promise they hold, and that there are always cracks even under the worst conditions. This zine, then, is a small sampler of acts of solidarity that just might keep us safer under fascism in order to get more of us to the other side, toward a world without fascism.”

While you’re clicking on links, here are two more with zines that Cindy has curated recently: Don’t Just Do Nothing: 20 Things You Can Do to Counter Fascism and Ritual as Resistance: 18 Stories of Defending the Sacred.

Enjoy! And remember to share!

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An Anarchist in AA

The following was written in December of last year for inclusion in the recently released zine, “Anarchist Experiences in and Explorations of Alternatives to Twelve-Step Programs,” published by Scrappy Capy Distro. It’s a great collection of texts, be sure to check it out.

My name is Scott, and I’m an alcoholic. My sobriety date is December 17, 2023. I have a sponsor and have worked the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. I now take others through the steps. I go to three to four meetings a week. I have a conception of and relationship with a power greater than myself that has been the cornerstone to my recovery. I’m also an anarchist.

I’ve been battling alcoholism and addiction for a while now. The first time I realized I could not stop drinking even though I wanted to, even when my job, health, and relationships depended on it, was in 2013. Back then I was militantly atheist and, frankly, judgmental and arrogant. Some days I still am. I’m a work in progress. The first person to offer to take me to an AA meeting was a conservative older woman wearing a t-shirt with the US flag on it. I thought she couldn’t possibly have access to a solution that would work for me. A few months later, still unable to stop drinking, I ended up in treatment, where we had to attend AA meetings.

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Raffle in Solidarity with Indigenous Anarchist Miguel Peralta

For more information about Miguel Peralta and the persecution he has been facing for the past decade, read this update from his support group.

Note: If you are located in what is called the United States and would like to participate in the raffle, Miguel’s support crew welcomes your participation! Please contact me for more information. The suggested price of the raffle ticket is $50 MXN ($2.50 USD), but you are welcome to contribute more if you would like. Prize winners will be responsible for covering shipping costs and will not be eligible for prizes that contain perishable items. A continually updated list of prizes can be found on the event’s Facebook page.

As you know, the case of Miguel Peralta Betanzos and the persecution and repression that his community, Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón, is experiencing, have been going on for more than ten years.

After years of imprisonment, hunger strikes, legal games, going back and forth in court at different judicial levels, etc., Miguel Peralta’s case reached the Supreme Court, which represented the possibility of putting an end to his persecution and obtaining his full and absolute freedom. However, things were not as favorable as one might think, and on November 6, the Supreme Court issued a resolution in which it limited itself to recommending that the Collegiate Court of the City of Oaxaca make review of Miguel’s case from an intercultural perspective. With this, the case returned to those instances, which are far from his community, family, legal team and support group.

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Panel at the 8th International Conference of the Anarchist Studies Network

If you can’t sleep, or live in a different time zone, you can get a dose of anarchy with our online panel “Conflict and affinity at the borders of anarchism” as part of the 8th International Conference of the Anarchist Studies Network, tomorrow, Monday, September 2, at 5:30am PDT.

Register for free here.

I’ll be presenting alongside comrades Ryan Knight and Imuris Valle. My talk is entitled “Toward the destruction of the Human.” Below is the abstract. Hope to see you there!

In recent decades, Black feminist and Afropessimist thinkers have problematized the notion of the “Human,” arguing that this construct of modernity is rooted in and necessitates an ontological and epistemological anti-Blackness. As an intellectual and socio-political movement, anarchism has come far in its analysis of race as a hierarchical social construct. Nonetheless, an unresolved tension within anarchism remains its origins in modernity and thus raises the question of how does a movement navigate and understand race if said origins are premised in anti-Blackness? This paper will offer a problematization of the Human drawing on theories of power, administrative violence, Black feminism, and Afropessimism. It will then propose that calls for the destruction of the Human and lines of flight from the Human inherently present a challenge to anarchist thought by forcing anarchism to reckon with its roots and its understanding of race from a perspective that, will be argued, is more radical than anarchism itself.

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Building support for anarchist political prisoner Jorge “Yorch” Esquivel and Okupa Che

Originally published on It’s Going Down.

On this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast, IGD contributor Scott Campbell speaks with Flor, a compa in so-called Mexico actively involved in supporting anarchist political prisoner Jorge “Yorch” Esquivel. They speak about Okupa Che, an autonomous, self-managed space on the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a project where Yorch has been a long-term participant. They then talk about the various charges and legal battles Yorch has faced since 2016, his ongoing imprisonment since December 8, 2022, and his recent sentence of seven years and six months. Flor also provides information on how folks can act in solidarity with Yorch and discusses the cases of other political prisoners in Mexico.

For more information about Yorch and Okupa Che, check out the following resources:

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In Memory of Clarissa Rogers

I’m heartbroken to learn of the passing of Clarissa Rogers and of her struggle the past couple of years.

Many lifetimes ago, I lived in Philly as a clueless baby anarchist. That was where I met Clarissa. She was an exuberant, bighearted, loving, passionate person. She took me under her wing and guided me through the scene and its politics, helping me get involved in various organizing projects, or just enjoying a great meal together or an inevitable episode of The Simpsons.

I remember hanging out on the porch of Not Squat, discussing workplace organizing or reviewing something I wrote or getting gently but firmly critiqued on my hierarchical worldview and beliefs. I remember the reading groups at the A-Space. I remember her relentless commitment to abolition and supporting political prisoners. But more than anything, I remember her as a dear friend who through her words and deeds modeled anarchism and invited me into it and helped me grow.

Unfortunately, we lost touch over the years, but she will always have a place in my heart. She deserves so much more than a blog post, but that is what I can offer here. Long live Wacky Adventures! Long live Clarissa! Rest in power, friend. Thank you for everything.

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The Campus Movement and Academic Self-Management

Originally published on It’s Going Down.

As Israel’s brutal genocide against the Palestinian people and Palestine itself continues past the 200-day mark, students around the so-called United States have risen up and are carrying out occupations and erecting encampments on their campuses. These acts are extremely inspiring, militant, and hopeful – calling to mind the campus occupations from the early aughts, the student mobilizing against the war on Vietnam in the 1960s and protests against apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s. Breathless blather from politicians and the media have turned what are actions against genocide into a “controversy” that deftly manages to ignore the political content of what is currently unfolding across the country. As Samuel P. Catlin notes in his exceptional essay, “The Campus Does Not Exist”:

Campus panic is a sustained note in the American public conversation; from Vietnam to Gaza, it has never let up. Reliably, every few months something happens “on campus” that the media inflates to the status of a national emergency: a speaker is invited, a speaker is disinvited, a speaker is not disinvited, a professor teaches, a student complains, a protest takes place. The media offers these incidents as scandals so fascinating and disturbing that they eclipse even a genocide.

At the front of any conversation regarding what is happening on college campuses must be an acknowledgement of what the action is in response to: an ongoing, U.S.-facilitated genocide. It seems both absurd and necessary to note that what matters above all is the genocide. Students (and some faculty and staff) are taking tangible, direct action to pressure institutions complicit in the genocide into divesting and disassociating from that most atrocious of acts. That opposition to genocide has been successfully constructed as “controversial” in this country merely demonstrates the insipid nature of what passes for public discourse and the paucity of thought contained within it.

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