Giovanni Gentile, Mussolini’s ghostwriter, was right–fascism really is the merger of corporation and state. Check out this little gem from the Beeb:
Former workers of an Argentine Ford factory are suing the firm over what they say were serious abuses during the military rule of the 1970s and 80s.
They say local managers conspired with the security forces to have union members taken to a detention centre on the premises, where they were tortured.
Ford has in the past denied torture took place on its property.
Several foreign firms have been probed by the Truth Commission, which said abductions of union members did occur.
The civil suit against Ford Motor Company and Ford Argentina also calls for four former company executives and a retired military officer to be questioned.
The former union activists allege that Ford managers plotted and executed a precise plan to violently get rid of union activities at the plant 40km (25 miles) north of Buenos Aires.
One of the plaintiffs, Pedro Troiani, alleges: “Some of us were kidnapped by the military inside the factory and taken to a clandestine, makeshift detention centre near the factory’s sports centre.
“There we were hooded, beaten, forced to face mock firing squads and tortured. Some were given electric shocks.”
Another says those kidnapped were transported in vehicles supplied by the company.
Of course, anyone even halfway familiar with Ford’s own rather ardent flirtation with fascism won’t be a bit surprised by this. It appears to be part of a larger pattern, does it not?
BTW, corporate fascism is a particularly large menace in South America; just ask any Colombian trade unionist. This horror is not limited to Argentina or the Ford Motor Co. by any means.
