The rise of the far right and the weakness of traditional parties
On February 18, 2017, Barcelona hosted a massive demonstration under the slogan "We want to welcome," which advocated a policy of open arms for refugees from wars like the one in Syria. It brought together 160,000 people and was the largest demonstration on this issue held in Europe. It would be very difficult to repeat such a mobilization today, although terrible conflicts continue to occur around the world. According to the latest surveys published by organizations such as CEO and newspapers such as The World either The Vanguard, up to a quarter of the Catalan population is willing to vote for xenophobic far-right parties like Vox or Aliança Catalana. In 2017, neither had parliamentary representation.
What has happened over the years to cause such a radical change? To begin with, it can be said that Catalonia is experiencing the social and demographic changes affecting much of the West. The second migration boom of the century has changed the face of our streets and squares, with the arrival of an additional population necessary to maintain our productive model, but which has not been accompanied by the corresponding policies to strengthen the welfare state.
In the case of Catalonia, there is a specific factor, which is the failure of the Process, which has caused frustration in part of the population, who believed the politicians who promised them a trip to Ithaca that ended in shipwreck. However, the truth is that we are witnessing a global trend, led by Donald Trump's return to the White House, and which in Europe we can see with Meloni's victory in Italy, the rise of the AfD in Germany, and Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage in the United Kingdom.
The discrediting of traditional parties affects, in the Catalan case, especially Junts, which is directly threatened by the Catalan Alliance. To the point that quite a few, especially among mayors, are calling for a rightward shift in the immigration discourse (exactly the same thing that's happening to the PP with Vox). But is this really the way to stop the far right?
The reality is that there's no easy recipe for combating populism. They have an advantage: they simplify their messages to the maximum and appeal to base instincts and fear of the other, and they come up with a pipe dream: the possibility of going back in time, to a supposedly happy time that never existed. However, in practice, what these parties end up unleashing are cuts in rights for vulnerable groups and, with the promise of dismantling a public sector they label as inefficient and corrupt, benefiting large corporations or their entourages. Just look at the United States and Argentina to see this. The alternative is a combination of pedagogy and management focused on solving the real problems of people who today feel frustrated and fearful.
Now, there's much to discuss about strategies and public policies, but ultimately we're facing an ethical dilemma that affects both parties and citizens. Do we really want to put our institutions in the hands of those who use hatred of those who are their electoral fuel?