The events and images from Torre Pacheco hold up a mirror to the politics of hate fueled by the far right, an incendiary reality spreading across Europe like wildfire through social media, seeking places to disrupt coexistence with easy enemies. The immigrant population—even though they are sometimes second and third generations with Spanish nationality—and marginalized communities are in the crosshairs, all rife with Islamophobic and racist rhetoric. The case of the fire at the new Piera mosque, still under investigation, could also respond to this logic. In its various acronyms, forms, and versions, the underlying discourse and street actions of the European far right respond to the same pattern, with more than plausible digital connections. Communities with elements that ignite a spark are sought everywhere, and calls for violent activism are issued. Then the hunt for immigrants begins. In the wake of the chaos, the targeted group is generically blamed, creating a general climate of fear, also among the native population. This is how bridges are easily burned and a culture of suspicion is established.
The hooded guerrillas are too reminiscent of the fascio Italians of the 1920s, violent minorities who attacked their ideological enemies, then socialists, communists, and anarchists. They ended up bringing Mussolini to power. Now the focus is on religious and cultural identity differences, always linked, of course, to the precariousness of life. Easy victims. Behind this persistent operation lies the inflammatory rhetoric of Vox. In fact, the Murcia Prosecutor's Office has already announced that it will investigate whether the party's leader in the region has committed the crime of inciting hatred. The Spanish government has also accused Abascal's party of "dabbling" in hatred, and the PP, which governs with the support of Vox at the regional and municipal levels—also in Torre Pacheco—of "complicit silence."
This irresponsible impunity against coexistence cannot be allowed. It's all too easy to find easy culprits for social and economic unrest. And it's hypocritical to do so after years of having abandoned integration policies: through education, healthcare, the labor market... Structurally having workers in the black market or in precarious situations, ignoring the dropout rate of young people from marginalized backgrounds, or not actively seeking ways to connect between communities of social origin is the best. It's a minefield for future conflicts. This has happened in Torre Pacheco and its surrounding areas. And those on the ideological extreme of those who have practiced political neglect are now taking advantage of the situation to demand the expulsion and criminalization of entire groups. It's as difficult to preserve coexistence as it is easy to destroy it.
We've seen the Torre Pacheco scheme in other European latitudes. There's no shortage of examples. And of course, in Catalonia, we're not immune. In fact, the instigator of the attacks on the Murcian people was arrested in Mataró. The snake's egg spreads easily.
