The Spanish trade union federation, CGT (General Confederation of Labour), released a statement calling on the entire working class to strengthen their anti-fascist involvement and publicly reject the activities of ultra-right pressure groups:
In recent days, in the streets of different cities throughout the Spanish state, far-right groups have been making their case for fascism, motivated by their rejection of the government’s negotiations for a possible “amnesty” in relation to the Catalan process. The Permanent Secretariat of the CGT wants to stress our total rejection of these groups, which are driven by interests that have nothing to do with those of the working class and that, on the contrary, act precisely against the working class. The phenomenon is not new; in our country, the struggle against fascism has been a constant since the working class began to organise to change the system of capitalist exploitation at the end of the 18th century. At the time, the bosses nurtured these groups as shock forces against workers’ self-organisation and trade unions.
As always, a set of corporate and media interests condoned these riots. We say “condoned” because it is significant that the various government delegations, both PSOE and PP, have for years allowed the far-right phenomenon, with its symbols, salutes and criminal chants, to express itself freely in the streets. Meanwhile, hundreds of cases of repression against social movements, especially anti-fascist movements, have taken place with enormous police violence and judicial persecution. These two yardsticks clearly show which side the parties have governed our country for the last 40 years. The paradox of these days is that it is precisely the violence of these groups that is publicly encouraged by “constitutionalist parties” but also by mafia businessmen – who, for example, make evictions of vulnerable people their business – or lackeys of ultra-liberalism in the guise of journalists, who feed the game of destabilisation.
Amnesty is a legal resource used by governments to serve their own interests; it is nothing new. Under the Popular Party, crooks and fraudsters were granted amnesty without consultation or an electoral programme. Now, a government agreement is being negotiated with this tool in the context of the infamous repression unleashed against actions and demonstrations during the procés. We are not going to evaluate a game that is not ours, but we will denounce both sides’ hypocrisy. The working class is not invited to this farce, and much less is it represented in the fascist acts of these days loaded with rancid patriotic elitism. The poison of fascism aims precisely at perpetuating injustice and exploitation through hatred. We encourage our members to participate in the anti-fascist mobilisations that will take place during November throughout Spain. Finally, we find it significant that this fascist upsurge coincides with the offensive of the State of Israel against Palestine. Netanyahu’s policy is a demonstration of impunity and genocide typical of fascist and authoritarian regimes, contrary to human rights. It is this fascism that the elites want to impose on us globally, the fascism of death and destruction against the working class and the dignity of the people. The anti-fascist struggle is the struggle for freedom. Fascism advances if it is not fought.
¡No Pasarán!
