The return of the far-right: this is how neo-fascism is reorganizing in Mallorca

Palm"Wanted for the destruction of Spain," "European lives matter," and "We export engineers, we import machete-wielding thugs" are slogans that can be seen on several streets in Mallorca, especially in Palma and Inca. They have been hung by members of the neo-fascist group Identitas. Thus, it's not just screens and social media; neo-fascism also occupies physical spaces in Mallorca. It's a limited, small space, but the presence of youth groups with neo-fascist ideology is growing, and they are also organized. Football stadiums are, and continue to be, one of their main points of socialization—historically linked to far-right ideologies—as well as some gyms, especially martial arts gyms, although in this case, their activity is more individualized and often under the supervision of sports federations. Explicit militancy, on the other hand, is more marginal.

It is in this context that Identitas emerges, a youth group created in the wake of the amnesty process for Catalan politicians convicted for the October 1st referendum. The very name reveals one of its main ideological tenets: the supposed loss of Spanish and European identity. Identitas differs from other far-right groups more closely associated with aesthetics. skinheadHe often organizes excursions, talks, and actions such as graffiti or poster campaigns.

Composed mostly of young, white men, the far-right group presents itself as a space for cultured, well-read, athletic people connected to nature. But, according to Margalida Roig, a historian specializing in Democratic Memory, this image "hides a classic fascist ideology." "Their model is reminiscent of the intellectual origins of movements like the Falange: affluent sectors that articulate a reactionary discourse to preserve their privileges," she explains. "Under the guise of a healthy and disciplined club, they spread a message that doesn't seek to improve the lives of the majority, but rather to dismantle collective rights and target minorities," the expert adds.

In this regard, Jordi Borràs, a Catalan photojournalist and expert on neo-fascist movements in Europe, points out that the Falange itself exploited workers' discontent to recruit new members. "The Falange used the colors of the CNT to align itself with the working class," he notes.

Ultras and gonellas: the background

In the Balearic Islands, and especially on Mallorca and Ibiza, neo-fascism cannot be understood without Gonellism, an ultra-Spanish nationalist movement—akin to Blaverism in the Valencian Community—that seeks, at any cost, to alienate the Balearic Islands, primarily by attacking the Catalan language. These small groups, which emerged in the 1980s and 90s around ultra-Catholic and affluent families, arose in response to movements—usually spearheaded by the Balearic Cultural Association—defending the language, culture, and Statute of Autonomy, and have been the twin of Vox in the Islands. Associations such as Círculo Balear, Actúa, Sociedad Civil Balear, and the Jaume III Foundation, among others, have for decades been the driving force behind the destruction of any trace of Catalan identity in the Balearic Islands. Without them, the government of José Ramón Bauzá (2011-2015) and, later, the founding of Vox in the Islands would not have been possible.

For his part, Àlvar Hervalejo, a historian specializing in ultra groups on the island, recalls that in Mallorca the most violent far-right groups were historically concentrated in the RCE Mallorca supporters' section, from where the Supporters Mallorca emerged in 1992. Although the current reality is very different from that of the eighties and nineties—when football and politics were almost inseparable and the stadium still bore the name of the Falangist Lluís Sitjar—these groups have not disappeared. They have adapted and mutated.

They have done so just as the far right has adapted. soft to broaden its social base and pave the way into institutions. "The political far right has generally abandoned, and especially in Europe, all the symbolic rhetoric that might identify it with genocidal regimes of the interwar period and with classical fascism," explains Borràs. "And it has done so because it has needed that ideological distance to reinvent and transform itself," he adds.

Today they continue to exist under other names, with more blurred or hidden symbolism, but with the same ideological references. According to Hervalejo, the Supporters Mallorca have become a space where neo-fascist groups find ways to socialize and recruit. Bomber jackets, Lonsdale sweatshirts, shaved heads, Adidas sneakers, and tattoos with symbols such as the Cross of Burgundy or the Celtic Cross—both associated with Spanish ultranationalism and neo-Nazism—remain identifying elements.

Until 2010, the ultra phenomenon had been relatively contained in Europe, but since the second decade of the 21st century, there has been a resurgence in its presence and visibility. Although direct physical violence has decreased, symbolic and identity-based violence persists, which has allowed for a certain degree of social tolerance. Currently, Supporters Mallorca are banned from entering the Mallorcan team's Son Moix stadium after being included on the list of violent groups. Even so, other ultra groups have echoed their sentiments, maintaining the same rhetoric but playing with symbolic ambiguity to circumvent police controls.

"Inside the stadium is where, through slogans, t-shirts, and flags, they recognize themselves as a group, create brotherhood, and reinforce each other," explains Toni Fuster, a pseudonym for a witness who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from the Sup's offshoots, linked to SSMM99. "There isn't as much violence as before, but that has also meant there are more of them. And if they have you on their radar, you have to be on your guard: they're still violent," he adds. "I signed up for self-defense the day two of them chased me down the street," he confesses to ARABalears. Fuster also points to the connection with other ultra groups in Spain, such as Suburbios Firm from Madrid and Supporters Gol Sur from Seville. "They and Identitas feed off each other: they recruit young people for both football and political activism," he explains. "In fact, they are the same ones who carried out the attacks against the young people camped at the UIB in solidarity with Palestine," he adds.

Sources at RCD Mallorca acknowledge that distancing themselves from the Supporters group has been a long and complex process. Despite being banned from the stadium, they admit that some remnants of their influence remain. They maintain that these attitudes and ideologies do not represent the club and that the vast majority of the fans categorically reject them. Another group that has surfaced in recent weeks, although ARA Baleares has not been able to confirm its presence in the Balearic Islands, is Núcleo Nacional, a small group with military and neo-Nazi leanings that has carried out attacks against the bust of Aurora Picornell and created graffiti of it. Hervalejo believes that these groups act as "the armed wing of Vox," an interpretation shared by Jordi Borràs. According to the Catalan photojournalist, the far-right party benefits from the existence of these violent groups: "It allows them to project the idea that these are the true extremists, while they present themselves as a 'necessary' option."

General framework and social context

The resurgence and expansion of the far right, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, is an undeniable fact. Even people who consider themselves far removed from this ideological sphere openly admit to having reservations about migrants arriving in the Balearic Islands by boat, often associating them—without empirical basis—with a supposed excess of social assistance or with crime. According to historian Margalida Roig, this growth cannot be explained solely through social media or football. "The context of persistent crisis and the perception of an uncertain future play a key role in this process of radicalization," she explains. The decline of the welfare state, the housing crisis, job insecurity, and the lack of clear prospects, among other factors, create a fertile ground for neo-fascist discourse to take root. In this context, the idealization of a supposedly better past acts as a symbolic refuge from uncertainty.

The social isolation caused by the pandemic, combined with digital hyperconnectivity, has fostered the circulation of ideas and figures from the neo-fascist sphere. "The far right and social media understand each other very well because they are based on very short, simple, and poorly developed discourses," explains Jordi Borràs. "The immigration-crime dichotomy is a clear example."

However, this does not imply a lack of strategy or intellectual development. "We have to dismantle the stereotype that neo-fascism is made up of intellectually incapable people, because it's not true," adds the photojournalist. "There is an ideological base behind it that knows how to synthesize and disseminate these messages."