New acropolis

New Acropolis is an international organization founded in Argentina in 1957 by Jorge Ángel Livraga. The group, which claims to be concerned with instilling teachings of a philosophical and cultural nature among its members, with an emphasis on the classical period, has been described by various authors and organizations as a sect or a new religious movement, linked to esoteric and theosophical studies. It has subsidiaries in various countries and is chaired by Carlos Adelantado Puchal.

Description

The organization itself claims to have dealt since its creation with the philosophical training of young people, with concepts taken from Plato, Confucius and other classical authors from East and West. They believe in the Age of Aquarius. They have defined themselves as a "training center at the service of culture and education, which provides higher education based on the tradition bequeathed by classical philosophy." His teachings are varied, having taught courses who have touched on a wide range of subjects, including ancient Greece, the Incas, Hinduism and astrology.

A controversial organization, which encourages secrecy among its leaders and very hierarchical, its structure and symbology would have, according to Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, a clear fascist inspiration. José Luis Rodríguez Jiménez, on the other hand, attributes to its Spanish subsidiary neo-Nazi character, hidden under a cover of philosophical and esoteric events. In this fascist conceptualization, it has been collected how a manual written by the founder would advocate the "elimination of the misfits of the future new world". Theosophy plays a role important in the organization, with influences from Helena Blavatsky, New Acropolis having been cited by Sabrina P. Ramet as a neo-theosophist current, in the context of occultism in Croatia in the 1990s. It has been framed within a series of «original groups of esotericism, gnosis and movements of "human potential" » and also as a new religious movement. The organization, which attracts new members through courses and conferences, has published magazines where it would address issues related to religion and art.

It appears in the so-called Cottrell Report –a 1984 document prepared by the Conservative MEP Richard Cottrell for the European Parliament–, where it was described as a fascist and paramilitary group. In 1995, the French National Assembly defined it as a "sect" in its 2468 report. less intelligent than whites, as well as women compared to men and people from lower social classes compared to upper ones. In May 2005, the Cottrell Report was reportedly abandoned by its lack of practicality, difficulty of updating and being criticized as an attempt to create "black lists". Pilar Salarrullana included New Acropolis among the twenty-eight "most dangerous sects for society", this consideration, that of sect, which also shares César Vidal, also pointing out how the organization would try to present itself as purely philosophical, trying to avoid outside doors that its teachings are interpreted in a religious key.

In 2014 Serge Blisko, director of the Interministerial Mission to Monitor and Combat Sects, assured VICE magazine that "Contrary to what it says on Wikipedia, the French government still considers New Acropolis a sect and is under surveillance".

History

After its foundation by Jorge Livraga in Buenos Aires in 1957, the association spread to Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil. In 1972, Delia Steinberg Guzmán created a subsidiary in Spain, the first European country where it was established.

The notorious presence of weapons among members of the organization during the 1980s has been noted. In 1981, after a discussion with Jorge Livraga and the couple separated, his wife Ada Albrecht created the Hastinapura Foundation, a splinter of New Acropolis. In 1988, Livraga was prosecuted in Spain for illegal possession of weapons by the Third Section of the Provincial Court of Madrid.

After the death of Livraga (in 1991), Delia Steinberg Guzmán ―until then director of the Spanish section― succeeded him in 1992 in the international direction. In 2005 she was named deputy president Beatriz Díez-Canseco Bustamante, former director of the Peruvian branch. After the international meeting in April 2011, she was replaced by Georgios Alvarado Planas, director of OINA in Greece Since 2020, the new & # 34;international president & # 34; is Carlos Adelantado Puchal, and Delia Steinberg Guzmán becomes "honorary president".

Beliefs

New Acropolis draws part of its cosmology from the Theosophical Society from which it splintered, however Livraga was also influenced by various other Western and Eastern schools of esoteric thought and by authors such as Julius Evola and René Guenón. often labeled by its critics as pro-Nazi and neo-fascist, some analysts consider that the most appropriate definition is that NA follows an ultra-conservative ideology strongly influenced by Traditionalism and that it advocates a hierarchical and disciplined society with ideological concepts influenced by Plato, Nietzsche and Confucius, and who considers democracy as decadent and the ideal model of society is a caste structure under an esoteric theocracy, similar to that preached in Platonism and that exists in Hinduism. This hierarchy would also occur in the racial aspect, since humanity would be divided into seven races also hierarchical where the white would be the highest and the black the least, and these in turn would be subdivided into seven sub-races each, in the case of the white race the highest sub-race would be the Germanic and the least elevated the Hebrew.

According to Miguel Martínez, a former member of the group, this hierarchy is fulfilled internally. Livraga was considered "World Commander" of the organization and the regional directors were "National Commanders", and other similar titles were extended in different ranks within the organization such as Leader, Instructor, Adept and even the lowest, the Probationer, to whom manual labor was assigned. Although public titles are more conventional, such as International President and National Director instead of Commanders, Master instead of Instructor, etc. According to the regulations for members of New Acropolis in its articles 10 and 15, the followers have the duty under pain of expulsion to:

"to abstain from all criticism to the Leaders, Instructors and compañeros. Of the first in all cases; of the last in terms of personal matters” and of “fulfill the provisions and ordinances emanating from the natural Mandos, and respect the oldest members, whether or not they have any charge”

A fundamental element of the cosmology of New Acropolis and that is related to an esoteric and apocalyptic eschatology is the belief that humanity is currently in the "end times" or decadence predicted in different religions such as the Apocalypse of Saint John, the Nordic Ragnarok and the Vedic Kali Yuga, so it is necessary to preserve esoteric knowledge by creating schools like NA itself. This apocalyptic belief is also based on a pseudo-historical concept taught in the organization's lessons and which talks about historical "cycles" where humanity would go through periods of splendor and decadence over and over again (the one prior to the current decadent period would have been the Dark Ages). Media) and that have been repeated since prehistoric times, even mentioning mythical or pseudohistorical events such as Atlantis and Lemuria (the latter inhabited by Yetis) that underwent the same cyclical process.

Structure

The organizational structure of New Acropolis is summarized in the Leader's Manual, written by Livraga and whose public dissemination was prohibited. The Manual itself establishes that its content should be kept secret not only from the general public but also from members levels of New Acropolis.

According to the Leader's Manual, the structure of New Acropolis is pyramidal. Livraga held the position of "World Commander", below him are the Keeper of Seals, the Continental Commanders, the Central Commanders, the Federal or National Councilors, the Unified Zone Commands and the Branch Heads. In addition, there are the so-called " axes", personnel of particular merit postulated only by the Central Commands, but who can only be designated as such or removed from the honorific by the World Command, and who are prohibited from possessing a fortune beyond what is necessary to cover their basic needs. The axed are given a golden ax as a symbol, which they must return in case of retirement for reasons of age or health, it being the duty of the organization to provide them with a place to live in their last years and take care of their possessions after die. If ax status is lost due to breaches of honor or morality, the golden ax is destroyed.

According to the Regulations for Members of New Acropolis there are three subdivisions called "Living Forces", generally for young members, which include the Work Brigades (male), the Female Brigades and the Security Corps. It is the duty of the members belong to one of the three but they cannot belong to more than one, perform at least twelve hours of voluntary work, which can be increased as a punishment for any offense or proportionally to the delay or non-payment of monthly payments. It also stipulates, among other things, the obligation of the students to stand up when the instructor enters the room and the mandatory dress code in official activities that includes the use of a tie and jacket for men and skirts for women.

Status

At the beginning of the 1970s, it managed to be declared a "public utility foundation" in Argentina,^{[citation required]} an "educational corporation" in Chile (according to decree no. 1337 of the Ministry of Justice and Public Utility" in Hungary. On December 20, 2006, a "Committee on Civil Society Participation in OAS Activities" of American States])" recommended to the Permanent Council that it agree to the participation of 35 civic social organizations ―including New Acropolis Chile― in OAS activities. On January 9, 2007, after a In the two-year qualifying process, the OAS Permanent Council granted New Acropolis (Chile affiliate) the status of organization with consultative character of this multilateral organization in the field of Education and Culture, approving resolution CP/CISC – 271/06. registered in the International Register of Associations with headquarters in Brussels (Belgium), under number 3/12-941/S, since 1981 as OINA (Organisation Internationale Nouvelle Acropole, association internationale sans but lucratif).