Stuart Christie on Liber Forti, 2015

Stuart Christie on Liber Forti, 2015

I have just received the sad news, from his companion, Gisela Derpic, that my old friend and comrade, Liber Forti, passed away – in her arms – in Cochabamba, early this morning. Ninety-five year old Liber was a lifelong anarchist activist who, at the age of 11, joined the theatre section of the Argentinian anarchist labour union, the Federación Obrera Regional Argentina (FORA) and, in 1946, founded the ‘New Horizons’ travelling theatre group. Among other things, Liber was Cultural Advisor to both the Federación Sindical de Trabajadores Mineros de Bolivia (FSTMB) and the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), and was a respected figure across the Central and Southern American revolutionary (and European!) scene: For what it’s worth, Ché Guevara called him ‘maestro’. Liber was imprisoned, tortured and finally exiled under the Latin American military dictatorships of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Gisela has written Liber’s autobiography which we hope will appear, in English, before too long. May the earth rest lightly on you, Liber.

[Details of the autobiography mentioned above, En Libertad : charlas con aquel que no está aquí can be seen at: https://www.worldcat.org/title/1062286153 ]