“Our judicial system is not frightening enough ”, said Felip Puig, the Catalan interior chief, a few days after the March 29 general strike. In the wake of that protest, the Spanish government has unveiled a series of changes to the Criminal Code that it hopes will be approved by June and which would criminalise the actions of movements such as 15-M (or indignados), despite their peaceful nature. Last week, Interior Minister Jorge Fernández gave more details: peaceful resistance will be deemed a form of illegal undermining of authority, punishable with one to three years in jail; the punishment for civil disobedience, which is currently six months to one year in jail, will be increased … [Read more...] about Spanish government seeks to muzzle protest with reforms
About Ter García
Squatting wave pushes for improved Spanish housing policy
“If they throw us out, I don't know what we're going to do. Now we have nothing,” says Trini, who lives with her partner and son in a squatted building in central Madrid. The €500 she earns taking care of seniors is the only income her family has. Trini wants to buy or rent a house, but at a price that her family can afford. Trini is part of a massive squatting wave that is sweeping across Spain as a response to the failure of public housing policy. Once, squatting was seen as an act of defiance, done mainly by young people. Now it is more commonly done out of necessity, by families who feel they have no other option. Since 2007, there have been more than 350,000 evictions as a result … [Read more...] about Squatting wave pushes for improved Spanish housing policy