1982 – May 22, 2009
Mauricio Morales aka Punky Mauri was an anarchist in Santiago, Chile who died when a bomb he was transporting to a police academy went off early.
Per the remembrances of his comrades, Mauri was an avid reader of Ted Kaczynski and his idea of technological society, as well as of Elisee Reclus, Max Stirner, Emile Armand, Alfredo Bonanno and Severino De Giovanni.
“He was able to take from these distinct writings an experience all his own, understanding perfectly that the best homage is that of a life dedicated to combat, and that there is no other poetry than action in and of itself.”
Like any anarchist, Mauri’s ideology changed and developed over time; just prior to his death he considered himself an antisocial individualist and nihilist.
The following is from issue 6 of Fire to the Prisons:
“It was a whiplash in the heart and stomach. Our brother died in combat; surpassing his fear and comfort, and facing his enemies… Burn what little we have for ourselves; for we can lose nothing because nothing belongs to us. We never said that the fight was easy, and sometimes results are scarce. We do not always get the goals we are proposing; some-times our enemies win the game. But the struggle has demonstrated that this their system is vulnerable. Despite our fear we want to destroy all social control; their guardians of law and order… And you Mauri, we give you a moment of silence and a life of struggle. Do not forget. Do not forget nor forgive.”
-Taken from “Black Plague”; a publication written in response to Mauricio’s death.
Early in the morning of May 22nd in Santiago, Chile, Mauricio Morales, a 27 year old anarchist, was killed by an explosive device he was carrying in his bag. He will be respected by all those who shared his feelings; his memory will be fostered in years of resistance to come. Mauricio’s death has sparked mourning and rage across the world. The average schmuck would respond to such news saying; “what an idiot”, or even more offensive; “he did this to himself.” We respond with a feeling of repulsion and a saddened rage. Mauricio died engaged in a war. When you are responsible for the trajectory of your resistance, when you are responsible for keeping a feeling of social tension with the state alive, you assume responsibility for the knowledge required to do so. The military or police are provided with specialists in bomb and weapon development as well as an unlimited supply of funding to explore such skills. Mauricio is fighting the system that sanctions the military and police; Mauricio, unlike the military and police, is only funded by a passion for another world and only equipped with misc. resources available for potential “reproduction” by civilians. This tragic mistake will be humiliated by the mainstream, but it is our responsibility to counter such manipulations. He did not “do” this to himself. The state’s existence drove Mauricio to act. He chose to not be victimized and instead confront the perpetrator.
Bomb attacks claimed by Anarchists are frequent in Chile, and even prior to his death Mauricio’s name was mentioned by those investigating some of these attacks. Small acts of sabotage such as these are usually done without inflicting injury and always against either government or business infrastructure. The bomb Mauricio was carrying was a fire extinguisher filled with gun powder; the police claim he was intending to attack the School of Prison Guards. Within the vicinity of the school at 1:30 am he died. The Chilean government rarely catches those responsible; unfortunately Mauricio is an exception. Surveillance footage claims to identify another hooded individual running from the scene when Mauricio died. The state is responding with escalating repression. Since Mauricio’s death, raids have been conducted on the homes of his family members and squats across Santiago. Threats of eviction and prosecution against the squats associated with Mauricio and individuals living there are coming out through fabricated state evidence and the support of mainstream media. La Idea is the social space most effected; this downtown Santiago squat has sent a call out to the world for solidarity. The Chilean state and media are trying to make a mockery of our fallen comrade; let us make a mockery of them.
If Mauricio made it to his location, prisoners across the world may have have felt avenged; individuals across the world may have have been inspired and a future generation of police may have witnessed a warning of coming attacks.
This is a poem Mauri wrote, excerpted from a posthumous collection of his work and tributes to his life titled “Mauricio Morales – Let’s Turn the City to Ashes” (available as PDF)
From birth we are already condemned,
The first thing is to forcefully introduce language and to put a name
To everything, to assign names to things.
Later structures of thoughts and ways of understanding reality
Are going to mold you. From there religion, ideology.
Brochures and cultural examples reinforce the chains.
Transcendentalist characters, Jesus, Buddha, Marx, and Che.
And everything that happens, every single thing that occurs
from birth, will be more important than yourself. God, the state, freedom and also the selfsame anarchy will be above you
You will be a servant and you will acquire by force a denomination:
student, priest, politician, revolutionary, etc.
You will be the object of a greater end, always superior to your
instinct, you will be a slave, executioner of your feelings.
Your family, the state, comrades, your party will back up your sentence
and your morale will be reduced to fulfilling a role.
From there it will be your prison…
Before this idea of submission I say the most important thing
in your life is you yourself, to hell with family, the state, the party, and to hell with anarchy.