Potere Operaio ("Workers' Power") was a radical left-wing Italian political group, active between 1967 and 1973. (It shouldn't be confused with "Potere Operaio Pisano" which was one of the components of a competing revolutionary group,

Lotta Continua Lotta Continua (LC; en, Continuous Struggle) was a far-left paramilitary organization in Italy. It was founded in autumn 1969 by a split in the student-worker movement of Turin, which had started militant activity at the universities and factor ...

.) Among the group's leaders were Antonio ('Toni') Negri, Nanni Balestrini, Franco Piperno, Oreste Scalzone and

Valerio Morucci Valerio Morucci (born 22 July 1949) is an Italian terrorist, who was a member of the Red Brigades and who took part in the kidnapping and assassination of Aldo Moro in 1978. Biography Morucci was born in Rome. He took part in the libertarian ...

, who led its clandestine armed wing. It was part of the "workerist" movement ('' operaismo''), leading to the later development of the

Autonomist Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tend ...

movement. ''Potere Operaio'''s main sphere of operations was in factories, especially big factories in the industrial North, and publishing newspapers and leaflets. It sought to base its Marxist theory on the everyday life of supposedly revolutionary factory workers. Potere Operaio officially ceased to exist on 3 June 1973. Most of its core members went on to be involved in

Autonomia Operaia Autonomia Operaia (Italian: ''Workers' Autonomy'') was an Italian leftist movement particularly active from 1976 to 1978. It took an important role in the autonomist movement in the 1970s, alongside earlier organisations such as ''Potere Operaio'', ...

, signalling the shift from operaismo to autonomism. Some of the leaders later drifted towards more radical groups such as the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...

, including Morucci and Adriana Faranda, who took part in the Moro murder. Negri was arrested in the late 1970s, accused of being the leader of the Red Brigades, before being cleared of charges. Oreste Scalzone also was arrested, in connection with violent acts. Ex-member Achille Lollo died in August 2021. He had been sentenced for murder and arson for his role in the Primavalle fire, along with two other members of the group.

References

{{authority control 1967 establishments in Italy 1973 disestablishments in Italy Autonomism Italian left-wing extra-parliamentary groups Communist organisations in Italy Modern history of Italy Marxist organizations Political parties established in 1967 Years of Lead (Italy)

See also

References