The hoax claiming ETA is back to target immigrants in Spain

The resurrection of ETA against immigrants: the hoax that refuses to go away
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. The discourse that once justified armed violence against a dictatorship is now being invoked to attack immigrants. A current of opinion on social media takes it as given that ETA has returned to carry out attacks against migrants, mixing in the IRA with an alleged reaction to illegal immigration and linking Bildu with Sinn Fein. The prevailing responses, however, range from mockery to condemnation.

From armed struggle to scapegoat
The paradox is obvious: the abertzale left (Basque pro-independence left), historically opposed to the Spanish state's security forces, would now be presented as a defender of an anti-immigration cause. Some comments point out that ETA maintains ties with the political world and that this relationship would make an attack on immigrants implausible; others simply dismiss the idea as absurd. But the hoax keeps spreading, with references to kale borroka (street violence) and an alleged invasion of the "Catholic island".

The political function of the rumour
These narratives are not innocent. By equating immigration with violence, exclusion is normalised and attention is diverted from structural problems. The talk about welfare benefits and handouts points to an economistic reading of asylum that turns the migrant into a competitor, not a person. The curious thing is that the argument, once used to glorify the anti-colonial struggle, is now being recycled to justify xenophobia.

What if the only purpose of resurrecting ETA was to give cover to a narrative of hate? The question remains open.