Spain
Since the beginning of the coalition government between PSOE and Unidas Podemos in 2019, the country has been focused on the problems derived from the pandemic, both health and economic. There is some disappointment on the left about the validity of some laws of the previous government, especially the Citizen Security Law (known as the Gag Law), which affects the citizen protests and continues to pose a problem for social movements. The main police organisations, along with the right and the extreme right, refuse to change this law. The right continues to try to promote the conflict with Catalonia and its sovereign demands, recently attacking teaching in Catalan in public education and other language normalisation policies, both in Catalonia and in other territories with their language (València, Euskadi, Galicia, Balearic Islands or Asturias). In regional parliaments where the right governs with the support of the extreme right, they try to repeal gender equality policies. In Castilla y León, the far-right Vox party has been part of the regional government since April.
Current Situation
Introduction
Since the beginning of the coalition government between PSOE and Unidas Podemos in 2019, the country has been focused on the problems derived from the pandemic, both health and economic. There is some disappointment on the left about the validity of some laws of the previous government, especially the Citizen Security Law (known as the Gag Law), which affects the citizen protests and continues to pose a problem for social movements. The main police organisations, along with the right and the extreme right, refuse to change this law. The right continues to try to promote the conflict with Catalonia and its sovereign demands, recently attacking teaching in Catalan in public education and other language normalisation policies, both in Catalonia and in other territories with their language (València, Euskadi, Galicia, Balearic Islands or Asturias). In regional parliaments where the right governs with the support of the extreme right, they try to repeal gender equality policies. In Castilla y León, the far-right Vox party has been part of the regional government since April.
Regarding the economy, the recent labour reform promoted by the government has put a stop to the high temporary nature of contracts and reduced unemployment. Still, the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine are beginning to be felt with the increase in fuel prices, which caused work stoppages during weeks in the transport sector, as well as other essential goods. The main concerns and challenges facing the population are economic problems derived from the pandemic, job insecurity, the price of energy (historical increases in the cost of electricity), the increase in the price of housing and evictions, the precariousness of public services.
The Spanish border with Morocco has recently been a point of conflict used by the Moroccan dictator to pressure Spain. The dictator used migrants to pressure Spain against the reception of a leader of the Saharawi Polisario Front for humanitarian reasons. With the rest of the border countries (Portugal and France), there is currently no conflict, and relations are normal.
The southern border of Spain is one of the black spots where numerous human rights violations take place. Within the country, there are also prisons for migrants in an irregular situation (CIE), and anti-racist groups regularly report numerous cases of discrimination in access to work, housing or on the streets, with police controls based on racial profiling. The gender and equality laws approved by this government have represented a new offensive by the right and Catholic fundamentalism. Also, Spanish nationalism against the different cultures of the State continues to be one of the hallmarks of the right wing, but it is also defended by some groups on the left, contrary to diversity.
Status of the far-right in the country
The violent actions of the extreme right in Spain are currently limited to attacks against left and local political headquarters of social organisations (bookstores, NGOs, social centres, etc …). The most serious was the attack with explosives against the Podemos headquarters in Cartagena, for which two people linked to neo-Nazi groups were arrested. There have been several attacks on LGTB people, migrants and anti-fascists in several cities.
In addition to the main far-right party (VOX), there are small organizations at the local level that carry out campaigns and various events from time to time. VOX has managed to normalise these speeches but has also removed customers from these organisations, many of which existed before this party’s irruption in the institutions.
The main fascist and far-right actors are the following:
- Far right parliamentarian: Vox.
- Extra-parliamentary far right:
- Partidos políticos registrados: Democracia Nacional, España2000, Plataforma Respeto, Alianza Nacional, Falange Española de las JONS, La Falange, Coalición ADÑ, Identitarios, NOSOTROS – Partido de la Regeneración Social.
- Grupos y organizaciones de extrema derecha: Hogar Social Madrid (Madrid), Hacer Nación (ámbito estatal), Iberia Cruor (Jaén), El Galeón Espacio No Conforme (Elda, Alicante), Valentia Forum (Valencia), Acción Juvenil Valencia (Valencia), Acción Social (Cádiz), Acción Social (Asturias), Málaga 1487 (Málaga), Asociación Cultural Alfonso I (Cantabria), Centro Social y Nacional Salamanca –CSYN– (Salamanca), Asociación Rodrigo de Bastidas (Sevilla), Asociación Cultural In Memoriam Juan Ignacio (ACIMJI) (Madrid y Valencia), Bastión Frontal (Madrid y Sevilla), Legio VII (León), Almería Inconforme (Almería), Getafe Nacional Revolucionario (Getafe, Madrid), Alcalá 1247 (Alcalá de Guadaira, Sevilla), Red Sociocultural DESPERTA (Zaragoza), Comunidad política Vértice (Almería), Devenir Europeo (Barcelona), Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco (national).
The main groups of victims of extreme right violence have historically been leftist groups, feminist groups, and racialised or LGTBI people. In recent years, parties in the Government, such as Unidas Podemos (left), have also suffered repeated attacks from the extreme right, both parliamentary (Vox) and extra-parliamentary groups.
There are problems between the parliamentary far-right and non-parliamentary far-right groups, especially in economic matters and in relations with Israel (VOX is openly pro-Israel). Within the extreme right groups that are not in parliament, there are conflicts over the movement’s hegemony and leadership.
Status of antifascists in the country
Anti-fascism in the country is, for the most part, organised at the local level in neighbourhood assemblies or platforms. Its level of activity varies depending on the city of the State we are talking about. The level of organisation and activity is higher in the main capitals such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Its main activity is the organisation of conferences, talks and events, acts and dissemination campaigns, and mobilisations in the streets. There are some territories in Spain with no presence or notable activity of far-right organisations, such as the Basque Country, Galicia or the Canary Islands. Still, they also have their antifascist platforms.
The main concerns of the antifascists are the rise of the extreme right and its visualisation, the amplification of its speech. The dissemination of the speech of the extreme right, previously reduced to more marginal spaces, is now reproduced in Parliament and has much more space and repercussions because of the media. This leads to the arguments and ideologies of the extreme right being considered as topics to be discussed and the groups themselves as valid operators within the political debate. Thus, the axis of the debates and social problems is moved to the field of extreme rights.
There are debates about the response to be given to neo-Nazi groups, the actions that are most effective, as well as the use of violence and self-defence, also on participation in state institutions and political parties. The main risks facing the antifascist movement are state repression (fines, arrests and jail), as well as physical risks of aggression.
Historic developments
As historical elements of confrontation between antifascists and fascists, we have mainly the Civil War (1936-1939) and the coup that led to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The transition from dictatorship to democracy is also a matter of confrontation, as is the case with the figure of the King, whom Franco appointed. This, together with the Amnesty Laws first and the later ones of Historical Memory, have been recurrent subjects of confrontation along with the elimination of streets and squares with names of fascists and references to the dictatorship, as well as monuments, decorations and official recognitions to members of the dictatorship.
The extreme right at the institutional level is carrying out a racist discourse against immigration, sexism and LGTBI rights. At the legal level, it is trying to repeal laws that grant rights to these groups and to increase the repression of left-wing groups. As for the neo-Nazi street groups, they are carrying out actions against collectives, acts, demonstrations and social movements, attacking the headquarters of associations or left-wing groups. There is also an increase in reports of attacks on racialised or LGTBI people and of hate crimes.
The most controversial issues are immigration (as Spain is the southern border of Europe and the place of arrival of migrants), the economic crisis, opposition to the rights of women and LGTBI groups, Spanish nationalism and the unity of Spain, attack on the left both parliamentary and extra-parliamentary.
The Zapatero government (PSOE) brought radicalization and a harassment campaign from the extreme right. A particularly key recent moment was Vox’s entry into Parliament.
International relationships
The different extra-parliamentary extreme right groups or collectives connect with similar groups in European countries. For example, groups such as Hogar Social were related to Italian neo-Nazi groups such as CasaPound and Blocco Studantesco, as is now Frontal Bastion. It is common for these groups to bring Nazi members from other countries to give talks or events. The ultra-Catholic organisation Hazte Oír, for its part, was at least originally linked to the Mexican sect El Yunque, according to a report commissioned by the Episcopal Conference in 2019.
Political landscape
Since 2018, VOX has been key for the PP governments in several autonomous communities and municipalities. They have been accepted as a government partner, granting them some of their demands against equality policies. Also, its presence has been normalised in the media. There is no sanitary cordon against the extreme right in Spain. Since April 2022, Vox has been part of the regional government of Castilla y León.
VOX is constantly in the news for its habitual attacks on equality and human rights laws through inflammatory speeches and a communication strategy based on misinformation and provocation.
Regarding the percentages obtained by the extreme right and extreme right in the parliamentary and EU elections:
VOX: 15.09% in the national elections (2019) and 6.20% in the European elections (2019)
Some activists of neo-Nazi and fascist groups have ended up being part of Vox, both as militants or supporters and in its structures as advisers, as is the case of Jordi de la Fuente, a former member of the MSR (neo-fascist party) who is currently an advisor to Ignacio Garriga, Vox deputy in Catalonia.
They seek to condition the governments on the right that they support (without becoming part of them so as not to wear themselves out) and to be constantly the focus of attention in the media.
The main political agenda of the extreme right in the country is that the right apply part of its program wherever its support is essential for these governments and always conditions the public debate around its proposals.
Media landscape
The extreme right in this country has, first of all, a series of newspapers and digital media for the dissemination of its ideas and messages. The leading media in the country are conservative in ideology. In addition, these groups and parties have invested in the purchase and creation of new digitals as a political strategy, as well as in the founding of television channels, YouTube channels, and other streaming media and social networks that are popular with young people.
The critical narratives are those of always the extreme right, a racist argument where immigration and Muslim people are blamed, and within this, unaccompanied minors are responsible first for the lack of work and then for crime and sexual assaults in the country. Also, a continuous attack on the rights of women and the advances of feminism, as well as those of LGTBI groups. In addition, since the arrival to power of the progressive coalition government, they have begun continuous harassment of its members with daily news, fake news, as a method of discrediting, both personal and political.
The media do not usually give publicity to the people or groups dedicated to analyzing or denouncing these extreme right-wing groups. There is normally no information about them, and when there is, it is sensational, whitewashing these groups and further normalizing their speech and presence.
Financial landscape
Non-parliamentary far-right groups have different financing methods, from the most basic ones, such as concerts, membership fees, and material sales, to shops, foundations, music groups, etc. They also carry out crowdfunding campaigns, lottery sales, or requests for donations.
The parliamentary extreme right, such as the Vox party, was financed through donations, lobbies, and foundations. Later, the financing for its creation was made public through an Iranian group considered terrorist by the US and the European Union. At present, by being part of the Institutions, it receives subsidies from public funds. This party also draws on different Foundations, lobbies, think tanks, and law firms.
Reports
Quarterly Reports
Quarterly reports give in-depth insights into the most pressing recent social and political developments in each country as they pertain to the local far-right networks and their international allies.
Giorgia Meloni’s victory in Italy has been experienced by the main far-right party in Spain, Vox, as a victory of its own. For the rest, September has been a month marked by international events in which both Vox officials and Hazte Oír and its international branch, CitizenGo, have participated in Europe and the world.
Updates in the National Landscape One of the milestones for the extreme right in Spain in September was the demonstration called in Barcelona against the use of the Catalan language in schools. The demonstration, called by the Escuela de Todos platform, was supported by Vox, La Falange or España 2000, among other far-right parties. https://twitter.com/Santi_ABASCAL/status/1571549585104838664 https://twitter.com/VOX_Congreso/status/1572935013351424001 https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1571565535145631746 https://twitter.com/Espana_2000/status/1574695063745093632
Support for the demands for a salary increase for the police forces has been another of the national issues that Vox has influenced, which has participated in the demonstration called on September 24 by the main police unions. https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1573678005444034561 https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1573718086666145794
From Vox they have also influenced the ‘water war’, a conflict between different Spanish regions derived from the transfer of water from the Tagus River to the Segura River, an issue that has traditionally been used as a battle horse by parties such as Vox and the Popular Party for a long time. decades. On September 30, Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, spokesperson for Vox in Congress, participated in the conference Agriculture and water in the Levant, present and future, in Murcia. https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1575825694780628992 https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1575807993534365696 https://twitter.com/EspanaDecide/status/1575856461535907841 https://eventos.laverdad.es/jornada-agricultura-agua/
Water is one of the issues on which Vox wants to launch national consultations. To do this, at the end of August they created a new Twitter account, Spain Decide, which they want to promote at the party’s anniversary party in October. https://twitter.com/EspanaDecide
Regarding new extreme right-wing groups at the national level, a report by the Stop Fascismos Málaga collective links neo-Nazi groups in this province with companies that illegally evict squatters, specifically with the company Exit Okupas, which has accumulated several legal complaints for threats and attacks during illegal evictions of vulnerable people. In that company, according to this report, there are members of the Bokeron Front, such as Juan José Bermúdez Rodríguez, known as ‘Juan el Gordo’, who was also number one on the electoral lists of the neo-Nazi Alianza Nacional party in the municipal elections of Malaga , and has also been a member of Málaga 1487 and is currently a member of Hace Nation. Previously, in other cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, the links of illegal eviction companies with extreme right groups have been shown, mainly the Desokupa company, the best known, which has among its workers members of the Bulgarian extreme right organization Orthodox Alba. https://stopfascismomlg.wordpress.com/2022/09/01/quien-hay-detras-de-la-empresa-de-desokupacion-exit-okupas-en-malaga/ https://www.elsaltodiario.com/hemeroteca-diagonal/paramilitares-y-extrema-derecha-integran-una-empresa-que-ejecuta-desalojos-extrajudiciales
At the judicial level, the highlight in September was the judgment of the Provincial Court of Valladolid, which ruled that calling the Association of Christian Lawyers a “troglodyte”, “extreme right” and “fundamentalist” organization is legal. The sentence acquits the actor Guillermo Toledo, who had been accused of libel and slander by this association of lawyers as a result of calling them this way after being acquitted of another alleged crime of offense against religious sentiments of which he was accused by the same association. The Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers is an organization that, since it became known in 2008, has used the courts as a battlefield against feminist and LGBT organizations and activists. https://www.elsaltodiario.com/libertad-expresion/audiencia-provincial-valladolid-ampara-troglodita-fundamentalista-extrema-derecha-asociacion-abogados-cristianos-willy-toledo
Transnational Activities & Group Interactions The Polish ultra-religious legal organization opens a branch in Spain, with headquarters in Murcia. Senior officials from Vox attended the event. The relationship between the Polish organization and Vox already jumped into the media in May, when the Spanish far-right party launched a bill in Murcia to ban LGBT flags in administration headquarters. The Spanish branch of Ordo Iuris is directed by Francisco Meroño Gil, who is also an advisor to Vox in the Parliament of Murcia. https://www.murcia.com/nacional/noticias/2022/05/14-ordo-iuris-defiende-la-neutralidad-ideologica-de-la-administracion.asp https://www.elespanol.com/espana/murcia/20220525/murcia-propuesta-vox-prohibir-lgtbi-edificios-publicos/675182710_0.html https://www.murcia.com/nacional/noticias/2022/09/17-gran-expectacion-en-la-presentacion-de-ordo-iuris-en-madrid.asp
Italy has marked the international relations of Vox in September, especially since the electoral victory of Giorgia Meloni. Meloni, whom Vox considers an ally, has once again made a splash after her victory for the speech she gave during the Vox rally for the Andalusian elections in June in which she defended the traditional family and charged against LGBT groups, the Islamic community. https://www.eldiario.es/politica/triunfo-meloni-italia-pilla-vox-plena-crisis-olona_1_9570169.html https://www.huffingtonpost.es/entry/en-vox-se-rifan-a-giorgia-meloni_es_6331b9a6e4b01804e09077e7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymGrmRKD_fY&ab_channel=ElMundo https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1570341045405372421 https://twitter.com/Santi_ABASCAL/status/1574161586062823426 https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1574361659593789442 https://twitter.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/1575389647458521088
From smaller parties of the Spanish extreme right, such as La Falange, they have expressed their rejection of the new Italian president, whom they accuse of “promising respect” to organizations such as the European Union and NATO. https://twitter.com/NorbertoPico/status/1575180881840349184 https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1574798856402903045
From Vox they have also affectionately congratulated the Swedish far-right party Sweden Democrats for their second place in the elections. Vox MEP Hermann Tertsch has identified the Swedish party as “brother” to Vox. https://twitter.com/Santi_ABASCAL/status/1569252536011333633 https://twitter.com/hermanntertsch/status/1569217327446609921
At the end of September, it was a senior official from Vox, Jorge Buxadé, a European deputy, who traveled to Italy to participate in the Conference “Italian Conservatism: Europe, Identity, Freedom” and Iván Espinosa de los Monteros traveled to the United States to participate in a conference promoted by the Heritage Foundation. https://europeanconservative.com/articles/the-european-conservative/italian-conservatism-event/ https://twitter.com/ivanedlm/status/1568570358864691200
Transnational Developments on Discourse in Mainstream Media Beyond Europe, the organization Hazte Oír continues to create networks. According to The Bureau Investigates, the Spanish ultra-Catholic organization and its international branch, CitizenGo, have launched a campaign against abortion and LGBT rights in Kenya. The publication details that the organization has received economic funds from the Russian oligarch Alexey Komov. https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2022-09-25/unholy-alliance-the-far-right-religious-network-attacking-reproductive-and-lgbtq-rights
Ignacio Ursuaga, founder of Hazte Oír and CitizenGo, has also traveled to Mexico for the World Congress of Families, organized by Mexican ultra-Catholic organizations and by CitizenGo. https://wcfmexico.org/speakers/
For its part, CitizenGo, its international branch, has launched a campaign to collect signatures in Italy, supported by the Spanish far-right party La Falange, for the Italian government to stop sending weapons to Ukraine. https://citizengo.org/it/208895-questo-appello-chiede-alla-santa-sede-di-continuare-ricerca-assidua-pace-evidenziando-il-suo https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1565269277099294725
In the European Parliament, Vox’s main interventions have been aimed at demanding the “cessation of subsidies to NGOs that collaborate with human trafficking”, criticizing ecological policies and criticizing policies aimed at minimally regulating the legal minimum wages of the States. Members, again attacking migration as the cause of poor working conditions. https://twitter.com/VOX_Europa_/status/1569279126883688448 https://twitter.com/VOX_Europa_/status/1569634160649682946 https://twitter.com/VOX_Europa_/status/1569655601352810496 https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1571024768786403329
Introduction
The attack against Darya Dugina, daughter of the philosopher Alexander Dugin, marks the agenda of the extreme right in August. A new far-right party, Libres, founded by former members of Vox in Ceuta, is also presented this month.
Updates in the National Landscape On August 8, Pedro Chaparro resigned as Secretary General of National Democracy alleging personal reasons. The resignation occurs after he entered prison last March for the attack on the Blanquerna bookstore in 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20220906130710/http://democracianacional.org/dn/pedro-chaparro-presenta-su-dimision/
In August a new far-right party is presented in Ceuta called Libres. Led by Manuel Jesús Vera, a former Vox militant in this city. At the national level, the project is led by Luz Belinda Rodríguez Fernández, former Vox deputy in the Andalusian Parliament and supporter of the Spanish Falange. https://elforodeceuta.es/un-nuevo-partido-fascista-entra-en-la-esfera-politica-ceuti-para-competir-con-la-extrema-derecha/
Transnational Activity & Propaganda/Narratives
Members of Hacer Nación demonstrate on August 9 in Asturias as part of the international campaign Indigenous Peoples’ Day 202 launched by the British Patriotic Alternative. https://twitter.com/AcebalTino/status/1556930878336630789/photo/1
Spanish far-right groups, such as Hacer Nación, express their revulsion at the August 21 attack in Moscow that killed Darya Dugina, daughter of the philosopher Alexander Dugin. Members of the Patriotic Platform association Millán Astray, a former councilor of the far-right party España 2000 and other people linked to far-right groups participate in the tribute to the deceased at the Russian embassy in Madrid, according to journalist Miquel Ramos. Dugin’s relationship with Spanish far-right groups is documented by the journalist Miquel Ramos since his visit to Spain in 2014, invited by the European Alternative. One of his last visits was in 2018 invited by the MSR and where the current secretary of organization of Vox in Barcelona was also active. https://twitter.com/HacerNacion/status/1561297825383718912 https://twitter.com/Miquel_R/status/1565819972105953280 https://twitter.com/Miquel_R/status/1561660762195742720
On August 26, 27 and 28, Hacer Nación celebrates a summer university, in which Miguel Ángel Quintana Paz, director of the Spanish branch of the Institute of Social Sciences, Economics and Politics, an institution created by Marion Maréchal, granddaughter Jean-Marie Le Pen and former member of the French National Front, and Thibaut Monnier, member of the National Rally. The Spanish branch of the institute created by Maréchal has strong links with the far-right Vox party, according to an article in eldiario.es. https://twitter.com/HacerNacion/status/1527364648529301504 https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/instituto-ultraderecha-marechal-le-pen-recluta-jueces-ejercicio-legitimar-posiciones-espana_1_9263427.html
Extreme Right in the Courts
The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid endorses two suspension sanctions for a national police officer for asking for the vote for Vox and jokingly stabbing migrant minors in videos broadcast on YouTube. https://www.eldiario.es/politica/justicia-confirma-sanciones-policia-pedir-voto-vox-bromear-acuchillar-menores-migrantes_1_9226835.html
In August, the National High Court ordered the extradition to the United Kingdom of British citizen Christopher TK, a resident of Alfaz del Pí (Alicante) for creating a group on Telegram from which he encouraged his 1,800 followers to attack migrants in the United Kingdom. The extradition is pending approval by the Spanish Council of Minister. https://archive.ph/2022.08.25-191315/https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2022/08/25/far-right-british-extremist-living-on-spains-costa-blanca-set-for-extradition-over-inciting-racist-attacks-in-uk/amp/#selection-763.0-763.14 https://www.eldiario.es/politica/justicia-autoriza-entrega-reino-unido-ultraderechista-acusado-instigar-atentados-telegram_1_9251393.html
June has been marked by the elections in Andalusia, in which Vox presented Macarena Olona as a candidate, despite the fact that he fraudulently registered in a house owned by another member of the far-right party in Andalusia as the Statute of Autonomy Andalusian forces candidates for the Andalusian Parliament to reside in this autonomous community. In the elections, held on June 19, the party led by Santiago Abascal won 14 seats, two more than he had but far from the expectations they had in Vox after having won, in the elections in Castilla y León, the vice presidency of the community. Even so, the speech of the party after the elections has been centred on celebrating the defeat of the parties of the left in front of the Popular Party, which has obtained the absolute majority in the Andalusian Parliament precisely, according to defence from the PSOE, by the useful vote for that Vox did not increase its political representation in Andalusia. https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20220620/elecciones-andalucia-2022-coste-escano/2384443.shtml https://www.diariodesevilla.es/andalucia/Juan-Espadas-PP-recibir-Vox01696932428.html
Another major milestone of the month has been the jump to the fence of Melilla by sub-Saharan migrants on Friday, June 24, in which at least 24 people died at the hands of Moroccan police. Faced with the denunciation of human rights violations, Vox has responded to this tragedy by demanding the defence of the Spain-Morocco border by NATO, which held its summit in Madrid the following week. . The NATO summit, held in Madrid from June 28 to 31, has also meant differences between groups and far-right political parties. In the face of Vox’s militaristic and pro-NATO discourse, smaller groups and parties such as the Falange or España2000 are demanding the departure of NATO from Spain, a military organization that they interpret as interfering with Spanish sovereignty. https://elfarodemelilla.es/vox-melilla-condena-el-ultimo-asalto-al-vallado-fronterizo/ https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1542525017581305857 https://twitter.com/Espana_2000/status/1540823196215173121
At the judicial level, the far right in Spain has joined forces to overthrow Mónica Oltra, vice president of the Valencian Country for the Compromís party. Oltra has been charged in court with allegedly hiding information about a sexual abuse case for which her ex-husband was convicted in 2019. The charges against Oltra include lawyers José Luis Roberto Navarro, leader of the extra-parliamentary and far-right party España 2000, and Manuel Salazar Aguado, of the National Association of Brothel Premises (Anela). Both were also lawyers for members of the far-right Anti-System Front organization arrested in 2005 for selling weapons for arms trafficking. https://www.elsaltodiario.com/extrema-derecha/terrorismo-sin-existir-justicia-espanola-advertencias-internacionales https://www.elsaltodiario.com/extrema-derecha/quien-es-quien-acusacion-monica-oltra-espana-2000-segui-vox
International connections
The events that took place in France, in the Saint-Denis district around the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Liverpool, showed La Falange’s link with Laura Lussaud, who was invited on June 10 to give a lecture at the headquarters of this match in Madrid within the cycle #Viernes CulturalesLaFalange. Lussaud, a member of Le Pen’s French National Front since he was 13 and founder of the Committee for Liaison and Aid to Nationalists, which provides legal and all-inclusive support to people of far-right ideology with judicial problems. https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1535324825664856065
The elections in Andalusia also brought to Spain Georgia Meloni, founder of the Brothers of Italy party, invited to participate in the rally that Vox held in Marbella on June 12. https://twitter.com/Vox_mundi_/status/1536399899033468929 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBfQiZCsAyU&abchannel=LibertadDigital https://www.elespanol.com/espana/politica/20220613/georgia-meloni-vox-marbella-esperanza-espana-europa/6799324230.html https://www.publico.es/internacional/georgia-meloni-lider-ultraderecha-italiana-representa-quiere-santiago-abascal.html
From Falange, they have also shown their support through social media to the members of Amanecer Dorado who were tried that month in Greece. https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1537758103344713728
For their part, as part of the jump to the fence of Melilla, Vox has retweeted comments from the president of the French party Rassemblement National Jordan Bardella and the MEP Jerome Riviere, a member of the French party Reconquête! https://twitter.com/JBardella/status/1540397009441546241 https://twitter.com/jeromeriviere/status/1540296229795536896
On June 24, Jorge Buxade, of Vox, met with Claudiu Tarziu, a Romanian deputy and member of the Romanian party Alliance for the Union of Romanians. According to Tarziu on social media, they soon hope to “reveal important plans together.” https://twitter.com/Claudiu_Tarziu/status/1540346966579748866
May 5th The members of National Democracy Pablo Lucini and Víctor Quiles try to give a conference at the Somosaguas faculty of the Complutense University, but a group of anti-fascists prevents it. https://twitter.com/DNacional/status/1522252282959736833 Twitter blocks Pablo Lucini’s account for hate speech. https://twitter.com/DNacional/status/1522174422785961986
May 7th Gonzalo Martín, from Democracia Nacional, participates in the Forum Europe et de la Nation, in Paris. The forum also broadcasts a message from Pedro Chaparro, leader of National Democracy currently in jail convicted of the attack on the Blanquerna cultural centre, in which he encourages Roberto Fiore —from the Italian New Force party—, Ioannis Lagos —from the Greek Golden Dawn—and Hungary’s Budahàzy, all convicted of far-right terrorism. https://jeune-nation.com/nationalisme/natio-france/forum-de-leurope-2022-message-de-pedro-chaparro-democracia-nacional-actuellement-emprisonne
Dozens of militants of Spain 2000 from all over the state, especially from Valencia, demonstrate in Madrid under the slogan #ExpedienteRouela, a conspiracy plot created by the Francoist Alberto Royuela that accuses judges and PSOE officials of organizing murders. https://twitter.com/Espana_2000/status/1522921762446585856 https://www.newtral.es/expediente-royuela-conspiracion-ultraderecha/20220510/
May 14th Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana (Kazakhstan), blesses during his visit to Spain the headquarters of Espacio Ardemans, headquarters of the National Union of Workers, a union that considers itself heir to the CONS —a union founded by the Falange in 1934— and chaired by Jorge Garrido, vice president of the Falange. https://twitter.com/jorgegarridosr/status/1525519474522312704
May 19 to 23 Leaders of the German extreme right meet in Mallorca for a meeting held at a private estate and organized by Irfan Peci. One of the participants is AfD MP Gunnar Lindemann. https://directa.cat/la-ultradreta-alemanya-es-reuneix-a-mallorca/
May 21th The Falange youth demonstrate in Madrid against all political parties under the slogan “Reconquer Spain”. https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1526278109913300992
May 23 The Electoral Board of Granada maintains the candidacy of Macarena Olana as number one of Vox for the elections in Andalusia despite the fact that the Salobreña City Council, where she was registered, began an ex officio cancellation of her registration on May 20 for not residing there Really. The census is the official certification that one resides in a certain dwelling. Being registered in a home located in an Andalusian town is a requirement to stand for election in this community. Several media outlets denounced that the registration of Olna, in a house owned by Manuel Martín Moreno, leader of Vox in Granada, has been carried out fraudulently since the candidate of this party for the elections does not really live there, as admitted by the Martin Moreno himself. https://maldita.es/malditateexplica/20220523/macarena-olona-candidatura-empadronamiento/
25 of May The International Counterterrorism Center places Spain among the European countries with ties between the extreme right and the military, citing as an example the fascist salute made by members of the Spanish parachute brigade BRIPAC in Paracuellos on December 8, 2019. https://www.publico.es/politica/think-tank-holandes-desnuda-simpatias-extrema-derecha-ejercito-espanol.html https://icct.nl/publication/right-wing-extremism-in-the-military/
May 28 Making a Nation organizes an act in Asturias to commemorate the Battle of Covadonga, a myth claimed by the Spanish extreme right related to the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim power. It includes a talk by José Luis Orella, professor at the San Pablo CEU Catholic University and president of Foro Arbil, and Rafa Ripoll, former president of Spain 2000. https://twitter.com/HN_Asturias/status/1530881946276044802
3th of April National Democracy gives encouragement on Twitter to Miša Vacić, president of the far-right Serbian Right party. https://twitter.com/D_Nacional/status/1510616551694770178
4th of April National Democracy congratulates his “friend” Laszlo Toroczkai on Twitter for the entry of the far-right Our Fatherland party into the Hungarian Parliament https://twitter.com/D_Nacional/status/1510744518852849673 https://twitter.com/D_Nacional/status/1510718408052158468 https://twitter.com/D_Nacional/status/1510624188012412935
5th of April Fans of the Atlético de Madrid soccer team, several of them related to the ultra group Frente Atlético, sing Nazi and fascist chants and salutes in the match that this team plays against Manchester City at the Etihad stadium in Manchester. UEFA opens an investigation and sanctions the team for these events on April 11 and forces it to display a banner that says “no to racism” in the second leg and to reduce the capacity of the stadium where the match will be played by 5,000 seats. https://www.lavanguardia.com/deportes/atletico-de-madrid/20220411/8193428/uefa-cierre-metropolitano-saludo-nazi-atletico-city-champions.html
The Center for Military History and Culture of the Balearic Islands is holding a conference by the historian Juan José Negreira Parets, a member of the Association of Friends of the Castle of San Carlos, under the title “The Balearic contribution to the Blue Division” and with the support of the Ministry of Defending. Negreira was identified in 1977 as the leader of the neo-Nazi organization Cedade, a Nazi holocaust denier. https://twitter.com/SmAntifeixistes/status/1508919761421414404/photo/1 https://www.facebook.com/amigoscastillosancarlos/photos/a.184710783270612/534593211615699/?type=3
April 9th Democracia Nacional tweets about the house arrest of Pamela Testa, from the Italian Forza Nouva. https://twitter.com/D_Nacional/status/1512717792323289089
April 11th Investiture of the coalition government of PP and Vox in Castilla y León, the first regional government in which the far-right party reaches a government agreement with the Popular Party, placing the far-right Juan García Gallardo as vice president. https://elpais.com/espana/2022-04-11/la-investidura-de-manueco-como-presidente-de-castilla-y-leon-en-directo.html
The neo-Nazi group National Democracy retweets tweets from Il Quadrato-Verona and Giuseppe Provenzale II, spokesman for the FN on the memorial of the fascist politician and singer-songwriter Massimo Morcello https://twitter.com/FN_Verona/status/1513564216271245319 https://twitter.com/ProvenzaleG/status/1513444759326580736 Vox congratulates Marine Le Pen for her results in the French elections. https://twitter.com/Vox_mundi_/status/1513548720134053891
April 12th The National Court sentenced Manuel Murillo, a security guard and son of the last Francoist mayor of Rubí (Barcelona), to seven and a half years in prison, who stated on social networks between July and September 2018 that he was going to assassinate the Spanish president Pedro Sánchez . According to an investigation by the newspaper Público, Murillo had been part of the Catalan Nazi organization RE+FNI Recuperemos España-Frente Nacional Identitario (today called FNI-Partido Nacional Socialista Obrero Español or FNI-PNSOE), officially registered in Barcelona on October 13. 2017, at the height of the pro-independence process, and whose leader is the former Spanish soldier José Alberto Pérez Molina. The same outlet links the FNI with the Ukrainian far-right party Svoboda and with the Azov Battalion. https://www.publico.es/ultima-hora/condenado-siete-anos-y-medio-francotirador-queria-matar-pedro-sanchez.html#analytics-news:content-link https://www.publico.es/politica/nazis-fni-ligados-batallon-azov-pidieron-fondos-francotirador-planeo-matar-sanchez.html
April 15th The Falange congratulates Roberto Fiore, President of the APF, on his birthday https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1514992035463319559
April 20th Vox defends Orban’s victory in Hungary in the European Parliament. https://twitter.com/VOX_Europa_/status/1516786750303129600
April 23rd The Nazi organization Bastión Frontal celebrates Nazi Days in Almendralejo (Extremadura) on April 23 https://www.elsaltodiario.com/antifascismo/conclave-nazi-almendralejo
April 30th Hacer Nation makes a presentation act in Malaga with around a hundred attendees. https://twitter.com/HacerNacion/status/1520844403224551424 https://twitter.com/HacerNacion/status/1520372850137436166 https://twitter.com/HacerNacion/status/1517883399276539905
The Falange congratulated its “comrade and friend” Roberto Fiore, leader of the Italian party Fuerza Nueva, on Twitter for his transfer to house arrest. https://twitter.com/lafalange/status/1520280096250159105
In March, Vox achieved its biggest electoral victory. On March 10th Vox entered an autonomous government for the first time with the agreement reached with the Popular Party on March 10 in Castilla y León. The leader of Vox in this region will assume the position of regional vice president in April and the party will lead three ministries —Culture, led by Gonzalo Santonja; Industry and Employment, directed by Mariano Veganzones, and Agriculture, managed by Gerardo Dueñas—. The agreement between the right-wing party and the extreme right-wing party is structured around eleven axes and 33 actions that will include control of content in schools. https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20220310/castilla-leon-ejes-gobierno-coalicion-pp-vox/2307046.shtml https://www.europapress.es/castilla-y-leon/noticia-junta-contara-10-consejerias-divide-fomento-medio-ambiente-20220411141539.html
Nine days later, the party called for a demonstration for the increase in prices. During the meeting in Madrid there is a moment of tension between Vox protesters and militants from the far-right group Bastión Frontal, whom they accuse of being “perroflautas” and “communists”. https://mobile.twitter.com/MalaMalamente/status/1505277988979593224 https://www.europapress.es/nacional/noticia-policia-identifica-miembros-bastion-frontal-cibeles-momento-tension-simpatizantes-vox-20220319144730.html During the demonstration, tweeters affirm that the spokesman for the manifesto of the call has sent a greeting to the Italian fascist union UGL. https://twitter.com/santigigliotti/status/1505136138507460610
This month, the increase of prices has been the main subject for the extreme right. Between March 14 and 25, the transport sector held strikes in protest at the rise in fuel prices called by the Platform in Defense of the Transport Sector, an organization chaired by Manuel Hernández, a supporter of Vox. The protests have the support of the far-right Vox party and groups such as Hacer Nacion. https://www.elsaltodiario.com/transporte/extrema-derecha-capitaliza-malestar-camioneros-trabajan-como-falsos-autonomos-subcontrados https://twitter.com/HacerNacion/status/1507306667045707801 https://twitter.com/vox_es/status/1504841652996816929
The relation between Spanish army and extreme right has been showed too this month. On 23 of March The Tercios Viejos Españoles association, which appears in the official register of the Ministry of Defense, launches a campaign in defense of Captain Antonio Meroño Jiménez, whose Hitlerian ideology was revealed by ‘Público’. Said campaign includes a letter addressed to the parliamentary groups in which they ask for a lesson against this medium. Meroño is related to the Murcian neo-Nazi group Lo Nuestro and Hammerskin Spain. https://www.publico.es/politica/militares-espanoles-esgrimen-libertad-ideologica-defender-capitan-neonazi-piden-vetar-publico.html https://www.publico.es/politica/ultraderecha-ejercito-capitan-neonazi-instruyo-cadetes-ejercito-aire-jefe-inteligencia-ala-14-caza-ataque.html#analytics-noticia:relacionada
Extreme right in the Courts
In the judicial frame, there have been several cases involving the extreme right. On March 8 The 44th Investigating Court of Madrid has sentenced the man who published on social networks his intention to “intimidate” the spokesman for Más País, Íñigo Errejón, for a minor crime of threats. The man, who will have to pay a fine of 180 euros, has been identified as an “active member” of far-right organizations. https://www.publico.es/sociedad/condenado-miembro-activo-extrema-derecha-amenazar-errejon.html
In this month, a sentence of the Constitutional Court has shown the relation between police and Vox. The Court obliges to investigate a case of police torture for criticizing a Vox demonstration in Granada. https://www.elsaltodiario.com/violencia-policial/constitucional-obliga-investigar-caso-torturas-policiales-criticar-manifestacion-vox-granada
At the end of the month, the Supreme Court confirms the sentence of 14 years in prison for sexual abuse of disabled people to Jose Antonio Ortiz Cambray, who was the leader of VOX in Lleida. https://twitter.com/AntonioMaestre/status/1509140547872636932
Transnational Political and Financial Cooperation
About international relations between extreme rights groups, Vox is again the protagonist. On March 15th a delegation from the Vox Solidaridad union traveled to Budapest to celebrate the Hungarian National Day and to support Viktor Orbán. https://ctxt.es/es/20220401/Firmas/39318/solidaridad-sindicato-vox-extrema-derecha-ugl.htm https://aldescubierto.org/2022/03/17/solidaridad-hungria-cara-al-sol-viva-santiago-abascal/
Spanish media publish too new information about the financing by Russian power groups to the Spanish extreme right and specifically to Vox through the Hazte Oír and CitizenGo platforms. https://www.elespanol.com/reportajes/20220319/ultraderecha-vox-oligarcas-putin-traves-hazteoir-citizengo/658184665_0.html
Isabel Medina Peralta, leader of the far-right Bastión Frontal group, had her start moment too on March 17th, when the German police, alerted to the trip of Peralta to Berlin by the Spanish authorities, expelled her from the country. They found a flag in her suitcase with a swastika and a copy of Mein Kampf. https://www.infolibre.es/politica/alemania-expulsa-neonazi-isabel-peralta-entrar-esvastica-copia-meim-kampf11222713.html
About the Ukrainian war, the participation of extreme right activists started now to be shown. On March 21st a former Catalan Falangist who had gone to Ukraine to fight alongside the Foreign Legion returned to Spain and the leader of the Ukrainian far-right organization ‘Tradition and Order’ appears in a statement wearing a Spanish Falange patch. https://cronicaglobal.elespanol.com/politica/ultra-catalan-dura-semana-combate-guerra-ucrania619887102.html https://twitter.com/lagarto_grx/status/1505901801735872517
Mariano García Calatayud, a Spanish retiree who has lived in this country since 2014 and who spreads photos armed with members of the far-right Pravy Sektor militia, is arrested in Ukraine on March 22th and released three days before. https://twitter.com/MiquelR/status/1506746619819143180 https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4978911/0/que-sabe-mariano-garcia-jubilado-espanol-pista-perdio-ucrania-puede-estar-manos-rusas/ https://twitter.com/MiquelR/status/1506667650990100491 https://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2022/03/22/primer-prisionero-espanol-guerra-ucrania-es-valenciano-64115431.html https://twitter.com/Miquel_R/status/1506217324088815623
The month ends with a summit in Madrid, on March 26, of neo-fascist parties from France, Germany and Italy with the participation of La Falange and Democracia Nacional, and organized by Alianza por la Paz y la Libertad, to demand the freedom of those sentenced to prison for the Blanquerna case. It also includes the participation of Yvan Benedetti —spokesman for the French Nationalist Party—, Giuseppe Provenzale —the Italian Forza Nuova, Yiannis Zografos —Elasyn—, Claus Cremer —Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschland—, Nick Griffin —British National Party (BNP)—. https://www.elconfidencialdigital.com/articulo/politica/cumbre-madrid-partidos-neofascistas-francia-alemania-italia/20220317173450367012.html https://luhnoticias.es/madrid-acoge-una-cumbre-de-partidos-neofascistas-europeos/
