The murder of Guillem Agulló at the hands of a group of neo-Nazis in 1993 was the catalyst that led journalist and political analyst Miquel Ramos to specialise in social movements, hate speech and the far right. It is also the starting point for his book Antifascists, published in 2022.
Armed with numerous newspaper clippings relating to far-right groups that he has been collecting throughout his life, and drawing on his experience in the anti-fascist struggle, in this book Miquel Ramos tells the story of anti-fascism in Spain from the inside, from the 1980s up to the date of its publication.
Ramos explains the various mechanisms through which hatred becomes politicised and spills onto the streets: via neo-Nazi and far-right groups that torture and kill homeless people, people of colour and members of the antifa movement, amidst the inaction and even complicity of various governments and the state’s security forces.
The book begins by discussing ‘the aftermath’ of Francoism and state terrorism, and certain post-Franco movements such as the national-revolutionaries. It also recounts the arrival of skinheads in Spain – initially a movement and aesthetic associated with the left but appropriated by the far right – which played a key role in spreading this ideology amongst young people.
It goes on to recount the most significant events in the history of neo-Nazism in Spain: hate crimes, tributes to Hitler, racist pogroms… and also discusses the various groups and movements that have emerged and faded away, the relationship between fascism and football, the specific case of Catalonia, and the rise of Vox and the institutionalisation of hatred.
In contrast to the history of neo-Nazi groups, the book discusses the various strategies of the anti-fascist movement: anti-racist skinheads (SHARP), community-building, the squatter and anarchist movements, grassroots work in neighbourhoods, and the organisation of anti-fascist brigades that confront the ideology of hate on the streets in the face of institutional inaction.
Miquel Ramos highlights the relationship between the anti-fascist, anti-racist, feminist and queer struggles, and emphasises the common ground and unifying power of anti-fascism across diverse social struggles and resistance against the far right.
To buy: https://capitanswing.com/libros/antifeixistes/