Clandestine is associated with what is hidden or concealed.
Clandestine is something hidden and said or done in secret for fear of the law or the authorities. The term comes from the Latin clandestinus.
This adjective can be applied to people or objects that, for ideological reasons, are condemned to a life of complete anonymity. They acquire special relevance in contexts of political persecution .
The clandestine in times of dictatorship
In times of military dictatorship , there are subjects who go into hiding to avoid being caught by the de facto government , which often results in torture and murder: "I cannot believe that I have to be clandestine in my own country to avoid being shot."
These times are also suitable for the development of clandestine activities, which are those prohibited or punished by the authorities : "The Communist Party has a clandestine newspaper that is distributed at its members' meetings."
People who are part of a clandestine group are not necessarily peaceful; the reason why they must live in silence is that their ideas oppose the political hegemony of the moment and, since their objective is to fight against said group, they are persecuted.
A guerrilla must act clandestinely to avoid being captured.
The case of Argentina
In Argentina , a paramilitary group that emerged in the 1960s was the Montoneros. They were members of the Peronist Youth , post-conciliar Catholicism and certain leftist groups. Among their fundamental founders were Fernando Abal Medina , Mario Firmenich , Carlos Mujica and Norma Arrostito .
Argentina was going through a situation of absolute control, after the overthrow of the presidency of Arturo Illia , and the unconstitutional assumption of command of General Juan Carlos Onganía . A dictatorship without limits was announced, which would end only if Juan Domingo Perón (then exiled in Spain ) died.
In this context, revolutionary groups, inspired by the actions of the Cuban Revolution , began to work on something different: to get out of the dictatorship by proposing a new form of organization, based on the model of guerrilla warfare.
The central ideas that mobilized these groups were: Peronism , armed struggle and socialism . In order to achieve the fusion of the three and to carry out a completely different government project, they began to develop strategies against the current dictatorship.
All their actions were carried out secretly, trying not to be found by the military and, if they were, confronting them in defense of the cause. Secrecy is the alternative that many people find to avoid suffering abuse from those who politically and socially lead a country .
Other meanings of the concept of clandestine
Beyond political issues, clandestinity can refer to actions or organizations that move in a murky environment and act against the law to commit illegal acts : "We have detected a clandestine shipment of imported products," "The official was arrested when his responsibility in the installation of a clandestine casino two blocks from the municipality was proven."
At the same time, it is said that many people live in hiding because they cannot regularize their papers to remain in a country; therefore, they must hide from justice and settle for a disorderly and illegal life.
This theme is the subject of the album “Clandestino” , released by French musician Manu Chao in 1998 ; the song of the same name deals precisely with this subject. The singer-songwriter intends to describe the suffering suffered by immigrants in an irregular situation and denounces the lack of will of the government authorities to solve immigration problems. These artistic manifestations are linked to the fact that immigrants who do not have the necessary documentation to reside legally in a country must become clandestine to avoid deportation .