15-M, or los indignados, are two years old this month and in the last few days I’ve been to two very different events marking that anniversary which give an idea as to where the movement is going. The first was a demonstration on May 12 in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol. I’ve given up trying to work out how many people are at such protests, as has the media in many cases, because the versions given by the authorities and those taking part are so utterly contradictory. But while there was an impressive turnout, there were fewer people than on the corresponding date last year – and nothing like the number that turned out in May 2011. The second was a comic opera. Solfónica, an orchestra made up … [Read more...] about ‘Twilight…’
Videos
A protest song in the bank queue
Activists perform inside the branch of the lender Bankia in Tirso de Molina, Madrid on May 9, 2013. The action was part of a nationwide protest in and near Bankia offices across Spain, as part of the second anniversary of the 15M, or indignados, movement. The protesters object to the massive state aid Bankia and other banks have received, its allegedly fraudulent management by former IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato and the continued eviction of many of its clients who are unable to keep up mortgage payments due to the economic crisis. … [Read more...] about A protest song in the bank queue
The fight for a fairer evictions law
An estimated 400,000 evictions have taken place across Spain since 2008. With one of the world's toughest mortgage laws, foreclosures are a much bigger problem in Spain than in other countries that have been suffering the ongoing economic crisis. The grassroots activists of the Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH) have been campaigning for a major change to this law, to redress the balance of power between banks and struggling homeowners. In this recent video, activists call on the governing Partido Popular (PP) to introduce that change and accept proposals in their Initiativa Legislativa Popular (ILP), a motion backed by 1.5 million signatories that includes the cancellation of … [Read more...] about The fight for a fairer evictions law
“Why don’t you shut up?”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who died on Tuesday at the age of 58, had a tense relationship with Spain. Most notoriously, during the 2007 Ibero-American summit in Chile, he repeatedly interrupted José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, telling him that his predecessor as Spanish prime minister, José María Aznar, was a "fascist" who had backed a 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela. Spain's King Juan Carlos grew increasingly irritated with Chávez's diatribe, eventually saying: "Por qué no te callas?" (Why don't you shut up?). … [Read more...] about “Why don’t you shut up?”
Here comes the sun
Artur Mas on Catalan independence
Violence mars Congress protest
Spain’s “Robin Hood” labour union hogs the limelight
Since then, Sánchez Gordillo has also been involved in a series of marches across Andalusia by around 400 SAT members who say they want to highlight the issue of unemployment. Spain has Europe’s highest jobless rate at 24.8 percent. Andalusia is one of the regions that has been most affected by the current economic crisis, with an unemployment rate of 34 percent, rising to 63 percent for those under the age of 25. … [Read more...] about Spain’s “Robin Hood” labour union hogs the limelight
