Italy: we say, 25 April is red!

This year’s 25 April celebration, marking eighty years since Italy’s liberation from fascism, was one of the most well-attended in recent times, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets across Italy. In town squares across the country, we saw Palestinian flags, overwhelming enthusiasm, and young people and workers eager to discuss how to change the situation.

[Originally published in Italian at rivoluzione.red]

The Meloni government and its constant provocations and repressive attacks – most recently Minister Musumeci's ridiculous call for ‘sobriety’ over the death of the Pope – have contributed to creating an even more combative atmosphere. [Editor: the Italian government deliberately extended the period of mourning for Pope Francis in order to cut across the 25 April mobilisations, whilst the minister in question’s talk about ‘sobriety’ was a clear attempt to subdue large, angry protests.]

Everywhere we went, we encountered widespread anger against the government, against the increase in military spending proposed by the European rearmament plan, and against the general worsening of life under capitalism in Italy.

The Partito Comunista Rivoluzionario (PCR), Italian section of the Revolutionary Communist International, took part in 49 demonstrations in over 30 cities. Our slogans and banners put anti-fascism back at the centre. Unlike the reformist parties or the Democratic Party (PD) and its satellites, our anti-fascism is not a facade or a piece of empty political propaganda for its own sake. They wave the flag of the resistance and then support European rearmament, defend the bosses and bankers, and help lay the foundations for a new war in Europe.

The Partito Comunista Rivoluzionario (PCR), Italian section of the Revolutionary Communist International, took part in 49 demonstrations in over 30 cities / Image: PCR

Ours is a class-based anti-fascism. The Italian resistance was an expression of the class struggle that exploded in our country with the workers' strikes of March 1943. Its strength lay in thousands of young people and workers who fought against the war, against fascism and against those who had supported and financed the fascists, i.e. the bosses, the bankers, and the capitalist system as a whole.

It was a struggle for communism, betrayed by the Stalinist bureaucracy in agreement with the capitalists. The partisans did not die for the bourgeois ‘democracy’ that today wages wars and genocide around the world in the name of the profits of a few parasites!

This is the spirit we brought to the 25 April demonstration.

In the weeks leading up to the march, we organised discussions in all our local branches about what fascism was and how it was defeated. We also organised blocs for the march which, with continuous chants and lively slogans, attracted dozens and dozens of young people and workers to our slogan of ‘Peace among peoples, War on the bosses’.

In Milan, where over 100,000 people took part in the march, we organised a bloc with a huge red banner emblazoned with the hammer and sickle, which also attracted the attention of the cameras. We had also set up gazebos, stalls and mobile carts, which attracted about twenty people who now want to join the party. Not only that, it was also an opportunity to promote the intervention we are planning for May Day.

In Naples, we repeated this success. We intervened in the rally with almost 200 communists – most of them young comrades – who had been prepared in advance with strong slogans, songs and extensive political discussion in the days leading up to the event. 

In Rome, between the demonstration organised in the Centocelle district and the official demonstration, we took part in rallies in four squares across the city!

In Bologna, between demonstrations in the districts of Pratello, Montesole and Bolognina, and various marches and popular festivals, we ended the day having sold 375 newspapers and €600 worth of books and pamphlets, along with numerous donations and dozens of discussions.

In Mestre, Pavia, Cosenza, Catania, Salerno, Crema, Parma, Modena and beyond: everywhere we intervened, we encountered an interest in communist ideas and people linking yesterday's Resistance to today's struggles.

Below are some messages written by comrades about our interventions in various cities:

Crema: “There were about forty of us in the square, comrades and sympathisers. While the official demonstration stopped for the Pope's mass, we held our own rally, which attracted many passers-by. At least sixty people followed the rally, showing that they liked our speeches and slogans!” They sold 28 copies of our newspaper, Rivoluzione and met two people interested in joining.

Milan: “There were well over 100,000 people in the square. We mobilised on several fronts. The night before, a team put up posters along the route of the march that said ‘Join the PCR’ along with posters that advertised our May Day celebrations. At the march, we had a bloc with two banners, a gazebo at the start, a gazebo at the finish, two carts selling drinks and newspapers, and several teams distributing the newspaper. Our bloc was a red patch in the march, continuously chanting combative slogans, so much so that it even ended up on television. We met more than 20 people who were interested in joining, distributed about 200 copies of Rivoluzione and sold 2,000 euros worth of books and pamphlets.”

Parma: “As always, the demonstration was very well attended and, this year, was enlivened by many Palestinian flags. We prepared our intervention meticulously. Our bloc was dynamic, combative and maintained a good political level thanks to the megaphone speeches by comrades with slogans against the Meloni government, against violence against women and in defence of the working class. This also allowed us to get in contact with several people who wanted to join.”

Modena: “Our party bloc was made up of about eighty comrades and was the only one with a large presence of young people under the age of 25. The bloc, headed by our banner which said “1945-2025: the struggle for communism continues”, was lively and punctuated by slogans, speeches and revolutionary songs. At the end of the march, we entered the final square singing the Internationale. Even the final photo we took in the square attracted a lot of attention. We met a total of seven people who wanted to join.”

Bologna: “The 25 April in Bologna always offers many activities, all of which are very well attended. We took part in four different events, as well as an evening event in Imola, the march in Ferrara and, for the first time, the march in Rimini. Our bloc saw good participation from our younger comrades. They sold 60 newspapers and took the addresses of four potential members. Throughout the day, we got the details of 21 people interested in joining and sold 375 copies of Rivoluzione, as well as more than €600 worth of books and pamphlets.”

Rome: “In addition to covering various activities in different cities in the province, we organised a militant bloc led by young comrades of the PCR, which involved over 70 people chanting slogans and songs of struggle. We were the main communist force to arrive in the official square and our arrival with chants and red flags attracted the attention of everyone present. Some comrades broke away to spread out in the march, particularly to talk to the younger attendees. We took the details of 16 people interested in joining the party, sold 165 copies of Rivoluzione and €360 worth of books and pamphlets.”

We ended the day with about 2,000 copies of Rivoluzione sold across Italy, over €5,000 collected for our fundraising and dozens of people who left us their contact details / Image: PCR

Naples: “The march was the most well-attended in recent years. There were between 5,000 and 7,000 people in the square. It was clear that many had taken to the streets to protest against the government as well as to celebrate liberation from Nazi-fascism. There were about 200 of us. In the days leading up to the march, we worked hard to invite people, which was crucial to the success of our bloc in the march. Our fighting spirit in the square and the effectiveness of our slogans also played a role. We were the only section of the march that gave a voice to the workers and talked about class struggle. We also succeeded in distributing the newspaper, with 120 copies of Rivoluzione sold and met 20 possible new members.”

We ended the day with about 2,000 copies of Rivoluzione sold across Italy, over €5,000 collected for our fundraising and dozens of people who left us their contact details to continue the discussion! For us, this shows the possibilities open to us to build the Revolutionary Communist Party.

Join us in this work to build the forces of communism!