Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
At first, I thought this was some generic communist song and I expected that there wouldn't be any information on this... But boy, I have and it's quite the rabbithole. So here we go:
This song was created by a guerrilla group called the "Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre (Communist League September 23rd)" or LC23S for short. The group was created in 1973 and the date 'September 23rd' was to commemorate a failed communist attack of an army barracks in CD Madera, Chihuahua by another guerrilla group that was active around the state (FYI: --I'm from Chihuahua-- ). During that time, the PRI regime still held power in Mexico and heavily cracked down on Communists and protests in general, along with that were the formation of numerous guerrilla groups in the country. A lot of these groups were formed in the southern state of Guerrero but in this case, there were also some that formed in the north and the LC23S was the merger of numerous groups and student unions as well, and was considered an actual threat by the government.
The LC23S indulged in violence, kidnappings (like the failed kidnapping of the sister of President-elect José López Portillo), and basically the things that every guerrilla group does. That aforementioned failed kidnapping was very costly for the group, causing the leader, David Jimenez Sarmiento (the individual in the video here), to be severely wounded and eventually leaving the group afterwards, and the Incident also revealed many cracks within the organization. The government in Mexico City proceeded to create a brigade solely dedicated to dismantle the group, by using 2 strategies: psychological warfare, and political violence
The strategy ended up working, slowly killing off the organization, but the nail in the coffin was a federal law passed that allowed small political organizations to have a voice in politics, like the Mexican Communist Party. Meaning that the miliant group lost it's purpose, along with slowly being infilrated by the federal brigade, they eventually faded out and disappeared during the 80s for good...
Lyrics / Letras:
¡A la huelga todos!
Los burgueses van temblando,
porque saben que con huelga
sus días están contados.
Pues los proletarios
que a la huelga han rifado,
con la lucha guerrillera
sus acciones reforzaron.
¡A la huelga todos!
Sin temor a nada.
Sólo así se llegará
a la insurrección armada.
Si la huelga estalla
vamos todos a impulsarla,
porque entre más entiendan
más difícil es pararla.
Vamos todos juntos,
obreros y campesinos,
con las armas en la mano
guiándonos por el marxismo.
At first, I thought this was some generic communist song and I expected that there wouldn't be any information on this... But boy, I have and it's quite the rabbithole. So here we go:
This song was created by a guerrilla group called the "Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre (Communist League September 23rd)" or LC23S for short. The group was created in 1973 and the date 'September 23rd' was to commemorate a failed communist attack of an army barracks in CD Madera, Chihuahua by another guerrilla group that was active around the state (FYI: --I'm from Chihuahua-- ). During that time, the PRI regime still held power in Mexico and heavily cracked down on Communists and protests in general, along with that were the formation of numerous guerrilla groups in the country. A lot of these groups were formed in the southern state of Guerrero but in this case, there were also some that formed in the north and the LC23S was the merger of numerous groups and student unions as well, and was considered an actual threat by the government.
The LC23S indulged in violence, kidnappings (like the failed kidnapping of the sister of President-elect José López Portillo), and basically the things that every guerrilla group does. That aforementioned failed kidnapping was very costly for the group, causing the leader, David Jimenez Sarmiento (the individual in the video here), to be severely wounded and eventually leaving the group afterwards, and the Incident also revealed many cracks within the organization. The government in Mexico City proceeded to create a brigade solely dedicated to dismantle the group, by using 2 strategies: psychological warfare, and political violence
The strategy ended up working, slowly killing off the organization, but the nail in the coffin was a federal law passed that allowed small political organizations to have a voice in politics, like the Mexican Communist Party. Meaning that the miliant group lost it's purpose, along with slowly being infilrated by the federal brigade, they eventually faded out and disappeared during the 80s for good...
Lyrics / Letras:
¡A la huelga todos!
Los burgueses van temblando,
porque saben que con huelga
sus días están contados.
Pues los proletarios
que a la huelga han rifado,
con la lucha guerrillera
sus acciones reforzaron.
¡A la huelga todos!
Sin temor a nada.
Sólo así se llegará
a la insurrección armada.
Si la huelga estalla
vamos todos a impulsarla,
porque entre más entiendan
más difícil es pararla.
Vamos todos juntos,
obreros y campesinos,
con las armas en la mano
guiándonos por el marxismo.
