Colau blames Barcelona looting on the far right

Colau blames the far right for the Barcelona looting

Does the far right actually exist in Spain? The question, which sounds like a dinner-table joke, has become the axis of a debate that began with an accusation from Barcelona's former mayor and has ended up drifting towards the riots in Bilbao, housing and Russia's role. The claim that the far right is behind the Barcelona looting has been met with scepticism in part of the analysis, which outright denies the existence of such an actor on the Spanish political map. Another current argues the opposite: that the narrative pointing to Moscow or the far right serves to cover up the real nature of the riots.

The argument that denies the far right as the culprit

The first objection is textbook: if the far right does not exist in Spain, it can hardly organise looting. The formulation, repeated with irony, points to a paradox running through the whole thread: the far right appears as a universal explanation when convenient and vanishes from the map when it comes to assigning concrete responsibility. Some take the argument further and claim that invoking antiestéticar of the far right works as a smokescreen to divert attention from other issues, such as housing policy or the handling of the protests.

The counterpoint comes from those who believe the real distraction operation is the opposite one: blaming Pilingui, Trump or an international conspiracy for everything happening on the streets. The irony about the automatic way any disorder is attributed to Moscow has become a cliché of the debate. The question hanging in the air is to what extent the official narrative needs an external culprit to avoid looking inward.

From Barcelona to Bilbao: riots nobody claims

The conversation soon shifts to the riots in Bilbao, where chants in favour of ETA were heard and groups acted that, according to the reports cited, call for the return of the terrorist band. The Ertzaintza's (Basque regional police) order not to intervene stands out as one of the most criticised points. The question of who gave that order remains unanswered in the available material, but suspicion of deliberate inaction hangs over much of the discussion.

The Salt case adds another layer: a CUP MP allegedly justified the riots in the town by arguing that burning containers is a cultural trait of their own. The quote, picked up by the media, is used as an example of how difficult it is for parts of the left to condemn violence when they are not sure whether it is theirs. The most repeated reflection is that some parties only condemn other people's violence, never their own, and that this ambiguity leaves them speechless when riots erupt on their own turf.

The PSOE, Segarro and the knock-on effect

In parallel, the focus shifts to institutional politics. A Segarro campaign in favour of the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party) is mentioned, along with the handling of immigration in Ceuta and the Government's decision to prevent the Army from applying the planned scheme to contain the influx. There are also references to organisations linked to the ETA milieu that allegedly received financial support to organise events. These are claims circulating in the material without judicial confirmation and should be treated with due caution.

Electoral arithmetic appears in several messages: the PSOE would expect thousands of useful votes from the Frente Amplio thanks to the knock-on effect from the Senate to the Congress. The reading is that the mobilisation machine works better with antiestéticar of the far right as fuel than with concrete housing proposals. The unions' strike and discontent over rent prices take a back seat, according to this interpretation, displaced by the narrative of the extremist threat.

Who organises a looting spree, and why nobody says it plainly

Social media analysis of the organisation of the Barcelona looting is mentioned as one of the pieces generating the most interest. The underlying question is who is capable of coordinating hundreds of people at several points in the city in a single night. The answer is not in the material. What is there is the observation that simple explanations —the far right, Russia, Israel, Arab intelligence services— compete with each other without any of them prevailing.

The final irony comes from the fact that the Government Delegate in Madrid resigned after failing to make the PSOE's electoral lists. Sometimes, politics explains itself.