“Nem guerra entre as torcidas, nem paz entre as classes”: decifrando as torcidas antifascistas unidas do norte e nordeste

Abstract

In the 2010s, sports have gained visibility on the political agenda, while the sports debate has become more politicized than ever before. Fans have not been indifferent to this process. Among other initiatives and actions, they have given rise to a new model of fan organization that differs from others in that it consciously and explicitly incorporates a political conception. Focusing on the fan collectives that are or were part of the United Anti-Fascist Fans of the North and Northeast (TAU N-NE), I sought to answer some questions: When, how, and why do these organizations emerge? What are the dynamics of organization within these groups? How do they differentiate themselves from and relate to other forms of popular association, both historical and contemporary, inside and outside stadiums? What are their actions and intentions? How do they interact with each other and relate to other individuals and organizations, directly connected to football or not? For this, I interviewed leaders of supporters collectives that are or have been part of TAU N-NE and analyzed the social media of these collectives. Taking totality as an ontological category of reality, and drawing inspiration from the thinking of Edward Thompson, which helps me understand the formation of the working class, I trace the history of fan association in Brazil, always locating it within broader social, cultural, historical, and political processes. Afterward, I analyze in greater detail the circumstances of the last decade, highlighting the intensification of class struggle, the politicization of everyday life, the rise of the far-right, the development of new information and communication tools, and the emergence of new forms of youth activism. All of this, combined with exclusionary and restrictive processes of hyper-commodification of football, has contributed to the advancement of fan consciousness, manifested in a set of practices, values, ideas, discourses, and projects that involve the recognition of a shared condition, the identification of shared interests (antagonistic to a common enemy), the creation of agendas, actions, theories, and discourses, and the establishment of new connections and entities. The anti-fascist collectives are a part of this process, both products and producers of the advancement of this fan consciousness. I also delve more deeply into the collectives that make up or have made up the United Anti-Fascist Fans of the North and Northeast (TAU N-NE), a more radical critical expression (in the sense of going to the roots) ever produced by Brazilian fans.