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
demonstrations
Malcontents in search of democracy
It is a voice of alarm that brings together the feelings of several generations, nationalities, political colors and economic classes. It is probable that we are witnessing in these gatherings an exercise in real and participatory democracy. Others, however, consider that the protestors are living in a utopia outside of the reality imposed by the market economy. Nonetheless, there are some who foresee a new phase in Spanish democracy. For that reason, the protests that took place on Sunday, June 19 are a breath of fresh air in a society threatened by the economic crisis, unemployment and the indifference of the justice system to cases of corruption in certain political circles. Putting to … [Read more...] about Malcontents in search of democracy