Democracy Now!
by Ter Garcia. After two years of struggle for housing rights, the Spanish government and the country’s banks have announced an end to evictions for two years in cases of extreme need. Although activists say that this will not stop the “drama of the mortgages,” as it is called by the mass media in Spain,
by Ter Garcia. Shared problems need shared solutions. That’s why, last May, members of various European social movements met in Frankfurt to protest the European Central Bank in three days of action under the name “Blockupy.” There, they decided that they needed to do more to create joint strategies for fighting the excessive power of
by Ter Garcia. Some of Spain’s hospitals and clinics have recently begun offering a new kind of public service. In an effort to defend the threatened health care system, thousands of doctors and their supporters have chosen to add civil disobedience to their practice. Last April, the Spanish government approved a Royal Decree — a
by Ter Garcia. Tens of thousands of people came again to Madrid’s Neptuno Square on September 29 confronting the police and demanding the resignation of the government and a constitutional reform process. The action was conceived of in July by a group called Stand Up Platform (Plataforma En Pie), which is made up of members
by Ter Garcia. On August 6, almost 30 members of the Andalusian Workers Union (SAT) entered two supermarkets in Écija and Arcos de la Frontera, two Spanish cities near Cádiz and Seville. They filled shopping carts with basic products such as rice, pasta and chickpeas while police officers stood at the doors to prevent them
by Ter Garcia. The struggle against austerity policies and the undermining of civil rights in Spain continues, and it is gaining strength. In the past month, Spanish miners have joined the efforts of other workers in other sectors, including education and health care, marking a new turning point: They have the support of most of
by Ter Garcia. “This is not a crisis, it’s a fraud,” goes one of the most-chanted slogans of Spain’s 15M movement. Now, the movement has decided to use the courts to get the board of directors of Bankia on the dock. “The courts are there to be used when we see illegal activity. Since we
by Ter Garcia. Last June, after leaving the encampment in the center of Madrid, people in the 15M movement would say, “We moved from Sol square, but we know the way back.” The day of action on May 12 this year exceeded the expectations of many people who thought the 15M movement was dead, who
Last month, Spanish activists associated with the May 15 movement began a new campaign, Yo No Pago (I Don’t Pay), inviting fellow citizens to practice civil disobedience by not paying for public transport. Contending that the current political regime is not giving people a say in how their taxes are being spent, they feel there
As the Spanish May 15 movement was getting started in February of last year, it did so with almost no money. What it had, instead, was a lot of participation. Little money, but many hours of voluntary work, made possible the country’s most important social movement in recent memory. The demonstrations that followed May 15
