Italy has erupted in violent and non-violent protests since the weekend, while the new measures against coronaviruses are much less strict than those observed in the spring. What is causing this developing social unrest and who are the clashes with the police? ?
Initially, the protests focused on Naples, in the Campania region, after a local curfew was imposed at 11 p. m. and regional governor Vincenzo de Luca warned that a lockout for about 30 to 40 days would be mandatory to stop the spread of the virus. noticed a build-up in the cases.
On Thursday, owners of bars, restaurants and other businesses demonstrated peacefully, however, on the first night of Friday’s curfew, riots began that saw the burning of trash cans and fireworks and bottles thrown at police.
The biggest cause came over the weekend when a record number of new infections led Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to signal a new decree on Sunday introducing national measures similar to a semi-blockade. Bars, restaurants and other restaurants should now close at 6 p. m. and activities such as gyms, swimming pools, theaters and cinemas have been closed for at least a month.
As a result, business leaders affected by the new regulations have organized non-violent demonstrations in Italian cities, from Trieste in the north to Palermo in Sicily, but since the weekend there have also been violent demonstrations and clashes with the police.
In Turin, storefronts were smashed and luxury boutiques looted; crowds of young people dropped smoke bombs and colorful flares; in Miron, protesters dropped petrol bombs at police and in Rome threw firecrackers and bottles; in many cases, police responded by firing water cannons or tear fuel at the crowd.
Italy is suffering from a cumulative effect of social discontent that has bubbled beneath the surface since the first lockout.
Although the regulations remain much less stringent than the one we saw in the spring, the scenario of commercial homeowners and commercial activities is very different in the run-up to this moment of slow lockdown than the first time, with 10% relief. in the economy this year. Many corporations suffered long after the first blockade and are still waiting for the benefits of leave and unemployment. While in the first closing period, companies had savings to depend on and manage, this time they did not.
Some believe that the latest regulations penalize certain sectors such as hotels and some bars and restaurants fear that they will not go to some other era of closure. Many of them have spent giant sums of cash to meet past coronavirus measurements such as greater cleanliness and acquisition. additional seats Forced closing at 6 p. m. has now necessarily decimated its already very low income.
However, while those who care about the survival of their business basically organize non-violent demonstrations, violent protests originate from many other motivations: far-right and far-left political teams, organized crime teams and violent opportunists kidnap and take credit for nonviolence protests to create disorder or promote political agendas. Reports recommend that football ultras are protests in Turin.
These violent protesters and those political and criminal teams have the opportunity to exploit the wrath of citizens to incite violence, loot department stores and confront the police.
So far, Conte has made the decision to avoid a momentary blockade to protect an already fragile economy, contrary to the recommendation of medical experts. A stimulus package of around five billion euros has been announced. Commercial owners are confident that the budget will come in “record time,” but many are very skeptical given the long delays in government profits after the first closure.
As new coronavirus infections in Italy remain out of control, with 21994 new cases recorded Tuesday, the government is struggling with the balance between protecting others from the virus and the economic effect that new restrictions may have. It had been said that Italy was relaxing blocking restrictions this summer, but now more than ever, it is vital to perceive what it means to “live with” this virus.
I’ve been writing about my country since I moved here five years ago after I graduated.
I’ve been writing about my country since I moved here five years ago after graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in art history.