Fernando Rosas is 1 of the leading figures of the Portuguese left. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to combating and then studying the erstwhile dictatorship in Portugal. In his youth, he opposed the Salazar government (for which he served his sentence), and then became 1 of the leading Portuguese historians specialising in the subject. I decided to ask him what else could be done in the face of the unbridled, apparently, emergence of the far right in Europe and in the world. Is there inactive time to think about it? Are we ready to reconsider our reasoning of a neoliberal strategy that has become a feed for authoritarianism?
Sofia Craveiro: While Portugal celebrates this year's 50th anniversary of democracy, we witness how the European utmost rightHe's getting incredibly strong.. How did this happen?
Fernando Rosas: In my opinion, fascism should be stopped as any unusual disease, irreparable plague, an emptiness from heaven. It is simply a discourse that prevailed in the 1930s. Fascism was seen as a plague brought down by human insanity or madness of any leaders. This is not the case. likewise to the Fascism of the 1930s, today's utmost right is simply a consequence of the crisis of the Western Liberal Order. In another words, the crisis of capitalism.
We are already in the second specified crisis. Since the 1980s. Last century capitalism holds a neoliberal course that has not solved the problems of average people. This led to unemployment, occupation insecurity, capital concentration and bankruptcy. It has become a origin of economical and social destruction, despair, anger and fear. Historically, it was under specified circumstances that Fascism gained the most followers. The situation is analogous to the current utmost right.
This is simply a social explanation that highlights the usage and manipulation of basic but understandable human feelings, specified as fear of occupation failure or social position or fear of uncertain futures. This paves the way for the most aggressive forces in financial capitalism, which can thus impose a real neoliberal dictatorship, facing virtually no resistance. The situation we are witnessing present is the wake of the Marxism crisis since the 1980s. 20th century, USSR implosion and the shawl of political power tipped against the conventional left.
This is the basis of the current offensive, in which the conventional right joins forces with the fresh right, radicalized.
Their voters are primarily wealthy people. In Portugal, they're the ones who fund the party. Chega [the main far-right organization in Portugal — the crowd.] They are crucial bankers, developers who have become rich in speculation and tourism. These industries first gain from the speculative logic of capital, which is the basis of neoliberal capitalism. In addition, any mediate class groups can be found among the far right electorate: they are tiny and average landowners, state officials, nurses, policemen. In short, certain sectors of the working and mediate class, which have been most painfully affected by the hard economical situation and are easy manipulated.
It is worth realizing that the far right does not have 1 electorate, only three. First of all, they're the oligarchs backing the Cheg party. large families, large bankers, real property investment funds. In Portugal, the tourism manufacture is very frequently involved. They meet at dinners and dinners, which is simply a well-known fact. It is so an electorate composed of these oligarchs and certain sectors of the mediate class with right-wing inclinations.
This coalition of voters besides includes those who long for Portuguese ancien régime from Salazar's time, and these are the ones that can be found in the ranks of the leadership of the Cheg Party. They openly appear against the Revolution of April 25, 1974. In their speeches they always say that our country has been on the incorrect track for 50 years. In general, they don't like democracy itself, they think it's due to democracy that our country is in trouble. With nostalgia they mention to the dictatorship of Salazar, fascism, colonialism and colonial war.
There is besides a alleged "blind voice" of unoriented rebels, a voice to the emotional and irrational depths.
I believe this second group is the majority of the far right electorate, its basic structure.
Of course. The first 2 groups of utmost right-wing voters follow ideological motives. Meanwhile, in this group we can talk about empty, irrational voices of protest. They are voters who deficiency critical possible to see contradictions and lies in the populist discourse of Cheg's organization and its leader, 3 times a day changing his mind. These are not only irrational voices, but due to misinformation. It's a manifestation of anger and fear.
Chega seems to attract young people, especially with the aid of social media. In the second category, do you take into account the voice of young people?
Yeah, especially people under 18. The main group of youth to which the Chega organization managed to scope are students of secondary schools. It is among them that the organization enjoys the top support. Things get complicated in the case of higher education: there the support is not so much Cheg as the right-wing Liberal Initiative (IL). Equally popular are left-wing parties, specified as the Left Block (BE): youth are more than 30 percent of their electorate. I taught classes in advanced school about the carnation revolution many times and found that this is not the youth that can be spoken of as the far right.
So this is about the protest voices again?
Yeah, it's protest voices. The voices of those who believe that the leader of Chegi André Ventura “has balls” that “just specified a guy is needed” that “he speaks loudly what people think”, etc. In another words, they are voters who are alienated from any rational analysis. For many advanced school students, especially during the election campaign, I saw that the debate with this group was virtually impossible. abruptly there's no area for logical arguments. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. With my talks about the carnation revolution, I visited schools all over the country, always with good results. Discussing face to face, even with people with highly different views, always brings any fruit.
This year was besides held elections to the European Parliament. Is the European task going to crash?
The European task will not last without fundamental reforms. due to the fact that what is the project? National economies cannot have their own currency and abroad exchange policy. The euro area is simply a strategy that favours the strongest economies, especially German and French, and is detrimental to marginal economies. It is virtually impossible to talk of economical sovereignty, which does not be in monetary policy. Everything is subject to the European Central Bank, which has not been elected and which no 1 in fact controls. The bankers decide everything.
Another failure is simply a migration policy that fundamentally boils down to the emergence of a immense fortress. It's ridiculous that European countries pay Morocco and Turkey for placing refugees in camps and preventing them from leaving.
The obsession with safety in Europe is growing, as in France.
French migration law is embarrassing due to the fact that it discriminates against French citizens who are not French or European. mostly Emmanuel Macron adopted the wording of the bill, which fits perfectly Marine Le Pen. W Netherlands The far right won the election, promising analogous rules. But it's a law that leads to civilian wars. What will he accomplish? What does it say erstwhile millions flee from drought, poverty, and hunger? Will that law halt them? Nope. The only real solution is progress, economical improvement and fair cooperation that will aid these countries to develop. There's no another prescription.
Europe is shrinking in demographic terms, He needs immigrants., therefore, real integration rules and procedures should be developed, which will be applicable in all respect, including for the European economy.
As regards economical issues, the EU must urgently introduce measures to regulate the movement of capital. Currently, we have "wild west" in this area, speculative investment is not subject to any regulation.
The free movement of capital is simply a business card of neoliberal capitalism, which already appeared in the 1980s. However, post-war Keynesian capitalism has successfully regulated capital within a given economical model. Until the most aggressive neoliberal policies in the economical and financial sphere are contained in relation to immigration and even abroad policy, the European Union will decision towards disintegration. You can already see that very well on the example of war in Ukrainewhere the EU is incapable to establish and adhere to its own political line.
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Fernando Rosas (born 1946) – active leftist, associate of the Portuguese Communist organization and co-founder of 2 another parties: the Communist organization of Portuguese Workers (PCTP-MRPP) in the 1970s and the Block of Left (BE) in 1999, whose associate remains to this day. Many times elected to parliament, he besides ran for president of Portugal in 2001. prof. emeritus Universidade Nova de Lisboa, founder and head of the local Institute of Contemporary past (IHC). He wrote respective books devoted to the First Portuguese Republic, the dictatorship of Salazar and carnation revolution. His latest book, titled Ensaios de Abril ("April Essays", Tinta da China, 2023), appeared on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the revolution.
Sofia Craveiro – Portuguese journalist, writes for the Gerador platform. She collaborates with local press, her articles have appeared in many titles and media, specified as Shifter, Mensagem de Lisboa, Amnesty International, P3/Público. In 2023 she received the wellness Journalism Prize, awarded by APIFARMA and Journalists’ Club.
Article published in stock Voxeurop.eu. From English she translated Dorota Blabolil-Obrębska.
