There are opportunities that cannot be missed. A few weeks ago, when the image of a young man wearing a Blue Division sweatshirt went viral speaking with Felipe VI In the midst of the riots in Paiporta, in the most Francoist basement in the country, the alarms sounded: that same sports jersey, blue in color and neo-Nazi spiritwas in the catalog of the Spanish Catholic Movement (MCE) on the internet.
Where others saw an apology for Nazism, the far-right veteran Jose Luis Corralhistorical leader of the MCE, saw a good opportunity to make money. “We don’t really know why, but we’re not running out almost stocks in the 250 Division sweatshirt“, he published on Telegram along with a link to the online store of this party. His name, concise and direct: Franquistas.es.
The MCE seeks to obtain income through this internet business. As detected Publicamong the material they offered until a few weeks ago there was also a sweatshirt with the initials AHTR (Adolf Hitler Was Right).
After this newspaper revealed this matter, the Franco group removed the garment in question from its catalogue. However, they are still available other Nazi apology products, like a patch that bears the swastika.
The online store is located in a basement on General Lacy Street in Madrid valued at 20,000 euros and which serves as the MCE office. In there, Franco is literally everywhere: busts, portraits and calendars of the dictator adorn that underground space.
“Break the siege”
Of everything that’s in there, the businessman Alvaro Romero would take the bust of José Antonio Primo de Rivera that Corral usually places strategically on his desk. Romero, Francoist and Falangist 365 days a year, is in charge of SND Editorsone of the publishers that bid for the far-right book market.
“I had the thing that our literature, or our works, or our way of thinking… There were publishers and people who made books, but in the end it remained inbred consumption, between us. I thought: what we should do is try to break that fence“said the SND manager in a conversation with the lieutenant colonel (retired) Francisco Bendala Ayuso published on his blog.
“With difficulty, but little by little they are seeing our books in bookstoresin the department stores,” Romero said during the interview with the former military man, marked from beginning to end by mutual praise. The SND publishing house also has a YouTube channel in which the neo-Nazi regularly participated. Pedro Pablo Penadied last July.
Romero has been part of the Falange Española de las JONS lists on several occasions. Among his regular collaborators on the YouTube channel are the far-right businessman Martín Sáenz de Ynestrillas and the national head of the Falangist formation, Humberto Pico.
Falange income
Falange also advertises through its website a catalog with clothing, Francoist flags or books. The products are available in “Falangist Store”an online sales company managed by Legua Editorial, a company domiciled in Valencia.
The Falangist store obtained a subsidy of 2,000 euros within the framework of the Next Generation funds (EU) of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism run by the Government. Far-right online commerce received this support through one of the programs focused on the digitalization of small and medium-sized businesses.
Not everything is the internet. Today, the Falangists – who have just completed the unification of the groups led by Humberto Pico and Manuel Andrino respectively – also have Espacio Ardemans, a conference venue and sale of far-right materials located in Madrid which, among other activities, hosted the presentation of the neo-Nazi group Núcleo Nacional.
“In Espacio Ardemans you will find a conference room with a capacity of more than 100 people where you can carry out book presentations, give talks, organize exhibitions, social events, celebrations, etc.,” they announce on their website. The premises are located in the number 66 Ardemans Streetthe same address that appears as the headquarters of the Spanish Falange of the JONS.
The Falangist political formation led by Humberto Pico does not usually publish its annual accounts, something that Andrino’s group does. According to their latest balance sheet, the “private income” declared by the ultras amounted last year to 158,851 euros, the highest collection since 2016. Among those income corresponding to 2023 50,492 euros appear declared as “donations and legacies”.
Hazte Orír’s “donations”
The donation system is key to understanding the functioning of one of the organizations most robust of the Spanish extreme right: he lobby Make Yourself Hear directed by the ultra-conservative lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga.
According to the latest report of CitizenGo –brand under which Hazte Oír acts internationally–, in 2023 it obtained 4.3 million euros through “donations”both “punctual” (for an amount of 2.6 million euros) and “monthly” (1.7 million euros).
“We depend on donations, we do not receive subsidies from governments or corporations. Our small team “makes sure that any small contribution produces a big impact,” say the ultra-conservatives led by Arsuaga.
#money #Spanish #extreme #publishing #business #online #clothing #stores #anonymous #donations
