AND
l September 22, in Italy, What nobody expected, which was no longer seen for a long time: a festive and rabid multitude paralyzed the country in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian people. After two years of demonstrations and indignation for the ongoing genocide, after two years of complicit silences of the Government of Meloni – a government converted into an advanced position in the west of the Government of Israel -, the base trade unionism launched a general strike [N. del T.: “sindacalismo di base” se refiere a sindicatos autónomos, no afiliados a las grandes centrales tradicionales].
One million people took the streets, at least in a hundred cities, and blocked highways, stations, ports and many other parts of the country; A strike accompanied by marches everywhere. It had not lived a day of mobilization of such magnitude for years.
And not only because there was work abstention, but because the living bodies of those who decided to “stop everything” began to walk to demand that the Italian government change course in their relations with Israel. A success in numbers and strength. The strike was convened by the base unions and represented a moment of rupture after years of continuous mobilizations. Milan became an epicenter of the chronicle, not only for the 80 thousand people who, under a torrential rain, marched through the streets of the center, but especially because collective rage became a confrontation with the police, which – unlike what happened on other sides – prohibited with toletes and tear gas the entrance to the station to block the tracks.
A disastrous decision, since much of the trains had been canceled for high participation in the strike. Milan’s images were used by politics to condemn the social conflict, perhaps because of the fear that the motto “we stop everything”, practiced beyond the words by the protesters, would become an example. Now the scythe of the repression blows strong, also because the mobilizations in Italy by Gaza and Palestine do not stop. After the hesitations of the CGIL [N. del T.: Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, el sindicato más grande e histórico de Italia]in recent days, the word of its secretary, Landini: if the global flotilla subsudi arrived strongly [N. del T.: flotilla internacional en solidaridad con Palestina que intenta romper el bloqueo israelí en Gaza] It is attacked, also the largest trade union organization will proclaim the general strike to stop Italy.
Meloni and yours use shocks to quell the conflict and reinforce their security narrative. The center -left is already unable to accept the conflict and has assumed a “governmental” position. All this only feed a useful narrative to the status quo. If on other occasions, in the face of street clashes, the country used to compact against violence, this time, like September 22, something is changing: some opposition and politicians parties are said against the repression and arrest of those who demonstrated. Artists, academics, academics and cooperatives who work in popular and social education reject the narrative of the hegemonic, government and police leadership.
Something was stuck in the repression machine and returned the massive dimension that in Milan and in all Italy uncovered the glass of frustration and decent rabies against a government that continues to underpin Israel and that day after day narrow the margins of conflict: with two decrees converted into law (caivano and security) [N. del T.: “Decreto Caivano” es una norma aprobada en 2023 con medidas punitivas para menores y jóvenes en periferias consideradas problemáticas; “Decreto Sicurezza” es un paquete de leyes que endurece las sanciones penales y amplía el poder policial]now even minors can be sent to prison. And just thus spent on September 22 in Milan: two minors were arrested and taken to jail. They are now in house arrest and are denied the right to go to school.
The policy does not speak of violence in this case, it does not speak of violence when it makes agreements with Israel, but is outraged by the attempt to enter the station and shout at the scandal if Miles decide to respond to the rejection facing the police. A short circuit called power, which on September 22 in Italy found resistance. But now that same power wants to do prisoners to prevent the flotilla from being attacked, the country will be paralyzed again.
* Italian journalist
