A Communist Coup by Lockdown: Covid Conspiracy Theories in Spain

ABSTRACT

The left-wing Spanish government that decreed a lockdown in March 2020 to reduce the spread of coronavirus had been in office for three months, after two consecutive elections in 2019 where the far-right had first entered the Parliament and then doubled its seats. As the first left-wing coalition government in contemporary democratic Spain, it had already been confronted by hard opposition from the main right-wing parties, who declared it illegitimate. This political climate has essentially affected public discussion about the government's measures and conspiracy theories about the pandemic, which tend to reflect the polarization in parliament. This chapter provides a concise summary of the political context and the pre-existing theories that have shaped conspiracy theorizing about Covid-19 in Spain. Following the main measures implemented in the fight against the virus, it examines how those were contested through conspiracy theories about lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccines, fact-checkers, and the virus itself. Finally, the chapter discusses the effects that, according to current research, conspiracy theories may have produced in the vaccination program (vaccine hesitancy being significantly higher in far right voters) and compliance with health measures. © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Michael Butter and Peter Knight;individual chapters, the contributors.