The Real Struggle Begins: Europe Descends into Fascism

In Spain people are speaking of the start of ‘the real struggle’, while in Greece the term ‘civil war’ permeates the political climate. 

In both countries a frightening re-emergence of a dictatorship past seems to characterize the current historical moment as fascist ideologies become more acceptable and police tactics become more pre-emptive and militarized.

These two trends emerging together, the rise of far right ideologies and pre-emptive militarized policing, indicate a shift in the discourses of legitimacy used by the state.

The tone has changed on the streets of southern Europe. People are growing increasingly impatient with the failure of their governments in the face of an ongoing economic crisis. 

For more than a month people have been organizing massive street protests outside the National Congress in Madrid. The “rodeo el congresso” actions began on 25th September 2012 and were quickly met with police brutality and a police force that clearly felt entitled to act some ways which were shocking even the veterans of the struggle against Franco’s dictatorship.

The sense that a new stage of struggle had commenced was not just in the meetings — the tens of thousands on the street seemed to have a new found urgency to their complaints, and most of all, there was a strong desire to show the government that the classic strategy of ruling through repression and fear was not going to work.