Italy – Per La Democrazia Popolare: Campi Flegrei: The Earthquake Shakes the Earth, But It is the State That Oppresses the People

We hereby share a translation of an article published by Per La Democrazia Popolare on August 8, we have received per e-mail.

The latest strong tremor that struck Pozzuoli and the Campi Flegrei area is a natural event, which has gone so far as to destroy homes, shops and buildings; sources put the magnitude of the tremor at 4.5. The situation involving displaced people and families in precarious circumstances caused by this event is anything but a mere demonstration of a natural phenomenon. The way in which this risk has turned into a social tragedy can be traced back to decades of policies that have subordinated public safety to economic interests and the logic of profit.

The people of the Campi Flegrei have been living for years with bradyseism, increasingly frequent seismic swarms and growing concern. Yet, whilst the population called for investment, structural inspections, genuinely viable evacuation plans, safe housing and efficient public services, the authorities responded with makeshift, half-hearted measures, merely to provide temporary accommodation that cannot be permanent.

It appears that it was only on 4 August that the government decided to allocate 100 million to tackle the situation involving nearly 60 uninhabitable buildings, 700 displaced people and water cuts that have led to a shortage of water. Transport links are completely unusable, forcing residents to rely heavily on replacement buses to get to work. Various shops and businesses – whether family-run or employing between 2 and 8 people outside the family circle – are being forced to close. This means the loss of their source of income and livelihood.

Against this backdrop, the class nature of the state is once more laid bare. When it comes to allocating resources to war, rearmament, big business and the interests of monopolistic groups, the Italian state quickly finds billions. When, on the other hand, the masses demand safe homes, adequate schools, functioning hospitals and effective earthquake risk prevention, budgetary constraints and a scarcity of resources are cited as excuses. The fascistisation of the state is also evident in this situation; it is a state that is increasingly distant and distrustful of the masses, whilst speaking of an ‘unpredictable earthquake’ in an area that has been hit by increasingly frequent swarms of aftershocks for at least a year and a half.

Local authorities bear political responsibility. Mayors and local authorities cannot simply limit themselves to managing the emergency after every tremor. We must forcefully demand extraordinary resources, transparency regarding public and private buildings, systematic inspections, practical assistance for families and the direct involvement of the population in decisions concerning the safety of the area. We must build grassroots movements in the Campi Flegrei and Pozzuoli that represent a clear opposition response.

When residents organise themselves to demand safety, the right to housing, transparent information and participation, they are expressing a genuine need of the masses. However, these mobilisations risk being rendered meaningless if they remain confined to calling for one-off interventions, without challenging the structural causes that lead to the neglect of the area.

Earthquakes are natural phenomena; political actions, on the other hand, are the social consequences of the earthquake. The victims, the displaced, unsafe buildings and precarious living conditions are the costs of prevention that capitalism offloads onto the masses. The popular solidarity demonstrated by the residents of Pozzuoli and the Campi Flegrei confirms once again that it is the organised people who are the primary force capable of tackling emergencies. But solidarity, on its own, is not enough.

We must transform anger and fear into organisation, mobilisation and struggle to ensure that safety, housing, health and the protection of the local area become effective rights, rather than promises made after every emergency.

The masses of the Campi Flegrei do not need institutional window-dressing or token statements. They need prevention, public investment, safety and the right to decide their own future. Every earthquake serves as a reminder that nature cannot be controlled, but the social consequences of an emergency today depend on the choices and interests of the social classes that hold state power.

To organize is justified!

For a Pozzuoli where people can live!

Collective for People’s Democracy of Campania