Last night, as on other occasions, pro-independence protesters have burned photos of the King of Spain as an act of protest prior to his visit to Barcelona. However, this performance has been adorned on this occasion with songs different from the usual ones. This time they have sung the "Bella Ciao".

For those who only know this song from the La Casa de Papel series, it should be explained that it's a popular Italian song that was popularized as an antifascist anthem during World War II.

And for those who only know fascism through the insults of Gabriel Rufián and some political leaders in the orbit of Unidas Podemos, the Comunes, the Mareas, etc., we should refer to any dictionary (Wikipedia already works) or specialized books on the topic to check its characteristics, but here we can summarize them in a single paragraph:

Characteristics of Fascism

Exaltation of the nation over the individual, suppressing political discrepancy for the benefit of a single party or ideology. The construction of a perfect utopian society through the instrumentalization of the masses as protagonists of the regime. Partisan control of the media in the service of power, the instrumentalization of fear and frustration to exacerbate them through propaganda. The repression of discrepancy and incitement to violence, displacing all negativity against a common enemy towards which to direct all anger in a thoughtless way, thus achieving the adherence of the population through sentiment above common sense. Disinformation and manipulation of the educational system are used to achieve an oclocracy (government by the will of the crowd) that displaces representative democracy and legitimizes the leaders of the movement. It's an exacerbated, totalitarian and expansionist nationalism that seeks to homogenize all language and cultural differences.

Of course, I encourage anyone to check the definition listed here with as many dictionaries as you want. You'll find few variations and surely all of them will be extremely enriching.

Therefore, and going back to the protests in Plaza Sant Jaume, we have groups of young people who seek out a future utopian nation, who find it perfect to intimidate dissenters (as the CDRs do), who express their strength through massive expressions, who has politicized and monolingual regional media (banning spanish, the most spoken language in Catalonia), which are constantly bombarded by political propaganda from these media and from schools that repeats the slogans of nationalism and represses dissentors no matter how much sanctions they receive from the Spanish or European justice. Young people guided by exacerbated emotions that leave no margin for reasoning, without self-criticism towards the regional leaders who lead them, educated in the belief that the "evil Spanish State" is the culprit of all their problems and has been since a long time ago, who dream of raising borders around Catalonia and then expanding them to include Valencians, Aragonese from "La Franja", citizens of Andorra, southern France and Italians from Alghero, thus building Catalan Countries of unique language and feeling.

These young people, who don't even know that they are defending fascism because the ruling regime in Catalonia has made them believe that they are anti-fascists, are the ones who tonight have accompanied their usual chants to terrorist band Terra Lliure with the "Bella Ciao".