"We recall today, here in Ravenna, a page of violence, devastation and death, in the chapter of our history that would have led to the loss of freedom for the Italians, with the start of the dark season of the fascist dictatorship, in the agony of 'liberal-monarchical order ".
This was stated by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella speaking from Ravenna on the centenary of the squad's assault on the Federation of Cooperatives.
"Democracy arises from the widespread awareness of everyone's responsibility in defending common freedoms. It was a conquest of the people. It is up to us to regenerate it every day, calling the youngest to be protagonists" added the head of state.
"The attack on the headquarters of the Federation of Cooperatives in Ravenna was intended to hit the heart of the popular redemption movement of the territory, which had managed to organize over 15,000 agricultural laborers. With it the intention was to weaken the demand for democratic participation that was more and more vigorous. The freedom of the social bodies of a country is an element that contributes to sustaining democratic life. When the intermediate formations are compressed, forced to silence, it is the entire scaffolding of freedoms and rights that is compromised ", he stressed.
"Cooperation has been and is a subject of economic democracy, a vector of progress. A protagonist, together with others, of that plural productive and service system that has made our economy one of the most advanced in the world. Fascism forced it. inside the cages of an oppressive and totalitarian state. The Republic has given it back its freedom and breath. Solidarity, the centrality of the person, the growth of work as a measure of dignity for every woman and every man, values that are at the base, nourish democracy and have found explicit recognition in the Constitution. It is a need that must always be felt, even in the unprecedented conditions of a time that is undergoing such rapid changes ", the head of state also said.
