A cien años de la Marcha sobre Roma. la victoria de la derecha en las elecciones italianas y el legado del neofascismo

This chapter examines the political and cultural significance of Giorgia Meloni’s electoral victory in Italy’s 2022 general election, placing it within the broader historical trajectory of the Italian right one hundred years after the March on Rome. Rather than interpreting Meloni’s rise as a straightforward return to fascism, the essay argues that her success reflects the normalization of post-fascist political culture and the strategic reconfiguration of the fascist past within contemporary conservative discourse. By analyzing Fratelli d’Italia’s political rhetoric, symbolic references, and electoral strategy, the chapter shows how historical memory has become a central arena of political conflict. Fascism is not revived as a coherent political project but is selectively reframed as a cultural marker of identity and opposition to the so-called “politically correct,” progressive values, and supranational institutions. The essay further explores how this symbolic politics resonates with broader trends across Europe and Latin America, where new right-wing movements mobilize historical narratives, anti-elitism, nationalism, and cultural grievances to consolidate popular support. Ultimately, the chapter argues that the strengthening of the Italian right should be understood not as the restoration of the past but as the emergence of a new form of post-fascist conservatism that instrumentalizes history to shape contemporary political identities.