The University of León teaches 'anti-fascist pedagogy' after visiting communist China

The growing politicization of Spanish public universities is once again a source of controversy, now in the province of León.

Spain, the paradox of approaching the largest dictatorship and warning against the 'far-right'
The toxic influence of the world's largest dictatorship in Spain and the lack of resistance

Yesterday, the University of León announced a new "University Microcredential in Antifascist Pedagogy". The post includes a video that states that "the rise of neo-fascism is of increasing concern in educational centers. Teachers face this reality without sufficient training or resources. This microcredential from the University of León was created to offer strategies, knowledge, and practical tools to address these situations in the classroom." The video also states that with this initiative, the University of León aims to promote "a democratic, inclusive, and intercultural education".

Seven years ago I warned here that one of the first rulers to use "antifascism" as a claim was the communist dictator Stalin, a mass murderer who developed a strategy called the "Third Period," with which the communists came to call the German Social Democrats "social fascists," facilitating the rise of Nazism by wearing down the Weimar Republic. The English historian Norman Davies wrote in his book "Europe at War 1939-1945: No Simple Victory" (2006):

"Needless to say, ‘anti-Fascism’ did not offer a coherent political ideology. In terms of ideas, it was an empty vessel, a mere political dance. It showed its adherents what to oppose, not what to believe in. It gave the false impression that principled democrats believing in the rule of law and freedom of speech could rub along fine with the dictators of the proletariat, or that democratic socialists had only minor differences with Communism.

What is more, it opened up a wonderful arena for the activities of
disciplined activists, whose training in the Leninist techniques of splitting and dividing adversaries would run rings round woolly intellectuals. But no matter! If you were a French trade unionist, tired of the wrangles of the Left, or a British Empire loyalist baffled by the complexities of modern politics or a Christian peace worker hoping to avoid another war, antiFascism was for you! Only in the background was the unspoken dialectic that, if Fascism was to be Bad, the Good had to lie with the originator of anti-Fascism - Joseph Stalin’s USSR."

Historical evidence shows that Stalin used "anti-fascism" to whitewash a totalitarian movement, communism, which was just as anti-democratic as fascism. Today's communists continue to employ exactly the same strategy when using that term. We must not forget that today, one-fifth of the human population lives under communist dictatorships that violate human rights and often use the claim of "anti-fascism" to whitewash their anti-democratic nature.

If the University of León truly wanted to promote "a democratic education," as it claims in the video announcing the initiative, it would be logical to also promote the rejection of communism and not just fascism. However, this is not the case. The current offering of degrees from that university does not offer any that teach anti-communist pedagogy. But there is more.

The current rector of that university, Nuria González Álvarez, was elected in May 2024. A few months later, significantly, she traveled to the communist dictatorship of China to strengthen ties with universities in that country. Let us remember that mainland China has been under a totalitarian single-party regime without free elections since 1949. An undemocratic regime in which the Communist Party of China (CPC) holds power, controlling all aspects of social life, including universities.

It's striking that the University of León is now teaching "anti-fascist pedagogy" after visiting the largest communist dictatorship, a dictatorship that this Spanish public university hasn't even addressed the slightest criticism to in its report on that visit. Are they trying again to pass off a toxic ideology under the guise of "anti-fascism"?