«Voi siete la schifezza di Napoli». La nascita del movimento anticamorra in Campania

Abstract

In Campania, unlike Sicily, there has never been a tradition of social opposition to the mafia phenomena. The anti-Camorra movement (1980-1983), in fact, emerged as an answer to the wave of violence of the first Camorra “war” (1978-1983) for the control of drug market and of the public funds for reconstruction after the earthquake (November 23, 1980). It was first of all the workers’ movement (the trade unions and the Communist Party) that initiated what would be called the “marching season”. But it’s the entry of Church and students (in connection with the Palermo agitations following the murders of La Torre and dalla Chiesa) which confers an original feature to the mobilization. The position adopted by the Episcopal Conference in Campania contributes to build a unitary movement that is characterized by its ethical, even political, value. The student mobilization, on the other hand, is a real challenge to the regional “power system”, a reaction to the “strategy of tension” atmosphere created by the political and criminal violence of the Camorra. Thus, a harmony is established between the various components of the movement that qualifies itself as civil resistance in defence of constitutional freedoms.

Keywords

• violence
• anti-Camorra
• Church
• students
• civil mobilization
• politics