The Chinese Roots of Italy’s Far-Right Rage

Subject: The Chinese Roots of Italy’s Far-Right Rage Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:32 pm

The country’s new politics are often attributed to anger over migrants. But the story begins decades ago, when China first targeted small textile towns.

The Chinese Roots of Italy’s Far-Right Rage Merlin_165239976_b6a56c71-4f1b-4d0f-9dc4-f0e73499f2b3-articleLarge

The Chinese Roots of Italy’s Far-Right Rage Merlin_165239976_b6a56c71-4f1b-4d0f-9dc4-f0e73499f2b3-articleLarge

PRATO, Italy — Like everyone in her family and most of the people in the factories where she labored in this town nurtured by the textile trade, Roberta Travaglini counted herself an unwavering supporter of the political left.

During her childhood, her father brought her to boisterous Communist Party rallies full of music, dancing and fiery speeches championing workers. When she turned 18, she took a job at a textile mill and voted for the party herself.

But that was before everything changed — before China emerged as a textile powerhouse, undercutting local businesses; before she and her co-workers lost their jobs; before she found herself, a mother of two grown boys, living off her retired parents; before Chinese immigrants arrived in Prato, leasing shuttered textile mills and stitching up clothing during all hours of the night.

In last year’s national elections, Ms. Travaglini, 61, cast her vote for the League, an extreme right-wing party whose bombastic leader, Matteo Salvini, offered a rudimentary solution to Italy’s travails: Close the gates.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/business/italy-china-far-right.html

The Chinese Roots of Italy’s Far-Right Rage

The Chinese Roots of Italy’s Far-Right Rage

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