As the 15-M movement, or indignados, prepare to commemorate their first anniversary, it says plenty about the state of Spain and its economy that much of the news coverage has focused on the possibility of clashes between demonstrators and police this weekend. With gatherings and marches scheduled across the country, from Saturday until the symbolic May 15 date itself, the scene is set for a huge turnout and another expression of anger and outrage at Spain’s political class and their handling of the economy. Many fear that this will spill over into violence, either on the part of the protesters, or the police. Violent confrontation was not something associated with los 15-M when they … [Read more...] about Time for Spain’s ‘indignados’ to prove their relevance
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Spanish government seeks to muzzle protest with reforms
“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
Iberians of the Year 2011: Spain’s Indignados
From Tunis to Cairo and from Madrid to Manhattan, outrage has been the overwhelming theme of 2011. Outrage at ineffectual, unrepresentative political systems, outrage at coddled elites, outrage at the financial system and the perceived culprits for the economic turmoil that has spread around the world. The year of outrage began on the streets of Tunisia in January, spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East as Arab Spring revolutions unfolded across the region, and, by late spring, the wave of indignation hit Europe. In Madrid in May, the seed of a different style of revolution was planted as thousands of activists - mostly young, many unemployed - set up camp in the city … [Read more...] about Iberians of the Year 2011: Spain’s Indignados
How do you choose the Iberians of 2011?
Choosing a “person of the year” is rarely easy and when Iberosphere co-editor Andrew Eatwell and I set about deciding on the Iberians of 2011, the difficulties were all too clear. So many events unfold over the course of 12 months: political, economic, cultural, sporting and otherwise. Is a football player more worthy of attention than a politician? Is a writer more important than a banker? Obviously, that depends on what each achieved and how much importance you attach to football, politics, literature and banking. For us, each can be of huge significance to a nation’s state of mind, if not its everyday life. But there is a more general issue. What is it that we are gauging? From the start … [Read more...] about How do you choose the Iberians of 2011?
Spain’s ‘indignados’
[sharethis] Last May, as the campaign for Spain’s local elections got underway, it looked like business as usual. Neither of the two main political parties was managing to inspire voters with hope or ideas as the country’s jobless line grew and the economic crisis deepened. But on May 15, the Sunday before the elections, a group of well-organised, mainly young, activists gathered in Madrid and marched to the central square of Puerta del Sol. They set up a makeshift campsite, declared the Spanish political system unrepresentative and obsolete, and within days their support had snowballed across the country and the eyes of the world were on them. Six months on, los indignados, or the … [Read more...] about Spain’s ‘indignados’
Spain’s greatest export: protest and outrage
El País newspaper’s decision to put its coverage of the October 15 (or “15-O”) global protests on its “National” pages, rather than in the “International” section may have looked at first glance like a heinous editing error, but it was in fact a telling decision. Spain’s own indignados protesters, who have been clamouring for economic and political change since May 15, are claiming the credit for the demonstrations held in around 1,000 cities and 80 countries worldwide at the weekend. This may sound fanciful, but, amazingly, it is close to the truth. When the indignados occupied Puerta del Sol in central Madrid during Spain’s local election campaign, it was clearly a new phenomenon for … [Read more...] about Spain’s greatest export: protest and outrage
Spain’s Socialists scuttle the ship
The legislature is limping to a close. Since José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's conversion to market orthodoxy in the spring of 2010, the prime minister has made no secret of the fact that his sole obsession is to sail the Spanish ship clear of the turbulent waters of a bailout, and he seems set to succeed. But his government's final manoeuvres have unfortunately had the effect of scuttling the lifeboat of Socialism driven by the party's chosen candidate for the November 20 elections. Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba is an able seaman, but he is navigating into an electoral storm made even worse by the last acts of his former Cabinet colleagues. First came the tawdry deal with the Popular Party (PP) … [Read more...] about Spain’s Socialists scuttle the ship
Fear and resignation in Spain’s deficit cap
A swiftly agreed, bi-party accord to safeguard the Spanish economy’s future. It should be music to every Spaniard’s ears. The governing Socialists and opposition Popular Party have finally reached consensus on a major issue, putting aside their ideological differences and petty electoral interests to introduce a constitutional reform that puts a cap on the public deficit. Such statesmanship harks back to the spirit of the Transition. Or does it? Having heeded the plea by the French and German leaders for deficit controls to be enshrined in eurozone magna cartas, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy have responded. This extraordinary measure, they argue, will calm the jittery … [Read more...] about Fear and resignation in Spain’s deficit cap
Democracy 2.0 and the 15-M movement
The 15-M movement, organized by ¡Democracia Real Ya!, has had an important impact on Spanish public opinion and has spread to other countries. It is undeniable that new communications channels on the internet have contributed to the expansion of its ideals, but they have not been the only methods by which the movement has been fuelled and motivated. The Cocktail Analysis, a consultancy, recently published a study called Movilización y redes sociales (Mobilization and social networks) looking at how Spanish web users evaluate the 15-M movement. Contrary to what many may think, most people first became aware of 15-M on the television (51.9 percent versus 29.6 percent who found out first on … [Read more...] about Democracy 2.0 and the 15-M movement
How Spain became ‘Españistán’
Plenty of books about the Spanish economy have been published in recent years: on the black market, multinationals, the financial system, the effect of the global recession and much, much more. Many of these are scientific studies, and most of them are on the dry side. But fortunately, if you want a punchy, fact-based look at Spain’s current mess, you can find it in the shape of a comic book called Españistán by Aleix Saló. A superb six-minute video gives a sharp summary of the book and gives us as fine a potted history of the Spanish economy’s last outrageous decade as you could hope for. “What a nice little squirrel,” we are told, as a furry mammal is shown on the screen. “Screw him!” … [Read more...] about How Spain became ‘Españistán’