Kris Haamer summed up the Lisbon event:

‎ACTA is censorship, a return to dictatorship” was what the group, many in Guy Fawkes masks, were shouting in an Anti-ACTA march in Lisbon center. I would describe it as small and unorganized (perhaps 200 people) with little structure and focus on coherent messaging. Very few people with laptops or iPads, iPhones, etc to share the message and only 1 tv station takin an interest..

"ACTA seems to be a marginal concern in Portugal. Few people mostly the youth". Photo by Kris Haamer on Foursquare (used with permission).

In Porto, although more than one thousand netizens had confirmed on Facebook their intention to participate in the protest, only a few dozen actually concentrated in the Aliados Avenue, in front of the City Hall. Some of the demonstrators came from Braga, as they decided to join forces in just one city in the North, due to low participation there.

Protest in Porto. Photo by Nuno Gomes on G+ (used with permission).

The protest, which was livestreamed on the blog of #AnonymousPortugal, then moved to the entrance of the newspaper Jornal de Notícias, in order to capture the attention of mainstream media, with success.

Protest in Porto. Photo by Nuno Gomes on G+ (used with permission).

In Coimbra, out of 154 confirmations on Facebook, only 21 people joined the demonstration.

Protest in Coimbra. Photo sent by an anonymous (used with permission).

"I had a motto but it was censored." Photo from Coimbra sent by an anonymous (used with permission).

In Viseu only 7 people joined. A new demonstration is scheduled for February 18 in Évora.

Activist on intellectual property issues Maria João Nogueira, wrote on her blog an open letter [pt] to the Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho where she mentions some of the countries that have stepped back from signing the agreement, recalling that:

o Embaixador Português no Japão já assinou a ACTA em nome de Portugal (e ainda não vi o pedido de desculpas), embora, curiosamente, não haja notícia desta assinatura, nem da posição do Governo Português acerca deste “tratado”.

On a different post she mentions a statement from 2010 that was signed by some of the members of the Parliament who “had reservations about the transparency of the process and have expressed doubts regarding the contents of this treaty”. Nogueira shares [pt] a list of the representatives, as well as their emails addresses, and invites readers “to ask the ones who signed if they have already clarified their doubts, and to those who didn't sign it, why they didn't do it, and what's their opinion/position about the subject”.

While the treaty is open for signature until March 31, 2012, Avaaz's world wide petition has already gathered more than 2.1 million signatures in just two weeks.

Written by Sara Moreira · comments (0)
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A week after the broadcast of an opinion piece by the journalist and renowned writer Pedro Rosa Mendes, on public radio Antena 1, the RDP (Portuguese Radio Broadcast) [en] announced the end of the show “Este Tempo” (This Time). The piece in question criticized the “coarse exercise of propaganda and mystification” which was broadcast live from Angola in a public TV (RTP) show with the participation of several politicians, governors and business men, including Minister Miguel Relvas.

A new report published on January 24, points to the reason for the end of the program according to Rosa Mendes, “the administration didn't like the last piece about RTP and Angola”. In the blogosphere and on social networks it did not take long for reactions to the “axing of freedom of expression in Portugal”.

Journalist Helena Ferro de Gouveia, on her blog Domadora de Camaleões, sums up the content of the piece:

Free information. Photo of a stencil in Lisbon by Graffiti Land on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

um retrato em que ninguém fica bem ao espelho, nem a elite portuguesa, nem os engravatados angolanos – incomodaram o “baton da ditadura” e alguns serviçais lusos que vendem princípios a preço de saldo. (…)

A verdade sobre a “oleocracia” angolana, país onde a cornucópia da riqueza é restrita a alguns e mais de metade da população vive na mais abjecta pobreza, é uma fronteira que não se atravessa.

Mozambican blog Ma-schamba describes the episode as a “detailing of the cue-taking by Portuguese power from Angolan capital”. Angola is better known in Portugal as a destination for those who cannot find jobs in face of the economic crisis, than for the political, economical and social ins and outs pointed out by Rosa Mendes. Moreover, in December 2011, the Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho recommended the unemployed to migrate to Angola (among other Portuguese speaking destinations).

A week before the news, the politician and scholar José Pacheco Pereira revealed his worries with “the progressive control over the Portuguese media by Angolan economic groups who, wherever they touch and enter, end the possibility of saying what was said before.” Even before the announcement on the radio program was made, on his blog Abrupto, he wondered “what is the ‘Information' of RTP for?”:

o que leva a RTP em aperto financeiro a enviar uma equipa à cidade mais cara do mundo, gastar tempo de satélite, deslocar pessoas e bens para acabar por fazer um pífio exercício de propaganda centrado nos estereótipos sobre a relação entre Portugal e Angola, bem longe de qualquer realidade? O que leva a tão deprimente e caro exercício de banalidade absoluta, a não ser dar tempo de antena a um ministro, por singular coincidência o mesmo que tutela a RTP, acolitado pelos mesmos de sempre (…)?

More questions about the current state of public broadcasting services were also raised by Raquel Freire, another journalist from “Este Tempo”, who stated in her farewell piece (transcribed on Facebook):

Numa democracia o serviço público serve para ser a voz das pessoas. Numa ditadura serve para ser a voz do dono, ou seja do governo. Na nossa situação actual, temos um governo que nos manda a nós portugueses emigrar, e ataca os nossos direitos fundamentais. Por isso, a rádio pública ser a voz do governo, não é sequer ser a voz daqueles senhores que alguns de nós elegeram, porque este governo é a voz da chaceler alemã, é a voz dos banqueiros alemães.

"Censored" journalists from "Este Tempo": António Granado, Gonçalo Cadilhe, Raquel Freire, Rita Matos and Pedro Rosa Mendes. Poster by Art.21º shared on Facebook together with the transcription of the Portuguese Constitution on Freedom of Information and Expression.

The news came out one day before the publication of Reporters Without Borders' ranking [en] on international press freedom, 2011-2012. Portugal is in the 33th place, 7 places higher than in the last report published by the end of 2010.

While analyzing the report, journalist and researcher on Angolan issues, Orlando Castro, said on his blog Alto Hama in an ironic tone “this year Portugal and Angola will climb up a few more places, thanks to - especially but not only - the RTP show made in Luanda and RDP's decision to cut off those who don't want to be the voice of the owner”, and added:

Creio que o relatório não refere mas, quanto a mim, tudo se deve ao contributo decisivo dado pelo ministro Miguel Relvas e, é claro, a Fernando Lima, consultor político do Presidente da República de Portugal, e seu ex-assessor de imprensa, para quem “uma informação não domesticada constitui uma ameaça com a qual nem sempre se sabe lidar” [Nota GV: declarações noticiadas a 4 de Janeiro].

“The truth is a poison”, said Rosa Mendes in his last piece, broadcast on January 25. The journalist closed with harsh critiques of an “a  society asphyxiated by the values of silence, cowardice and fawning” after 40 years of democracy in Portugal:

Podemos sempre pensar que apenas em cenários limite - genocídio, a guerra, extermínio - acontecem escolhas-limite; e que é a violência absoluta ou é a humilhação ou o sofrimento absoluto que impõem a revolta, o inconformismo, a coragem; ou não. Tenho para mim que as escolhas-limite se fazem todos os dias, no nosso quotidiano; e duvido muito que quem vive de espinha dobrada em tempo de paz , em tempo feliz (como é já nos esquecemos o tempo democrático) seja capaz de endireitar a espinha em tempos difíceis.

The Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) is already investigating the case, concerning the possible “violation of rights, liberties and warranties  in media activities”.

Written by Sara Moreira · Translated by Janet Gunter · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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The year 2011 will be remembered for the European debt crisis and its impact on the global economy, but also for its hard consequences on everyday life. The crisis began in 2007 and is without precedent in post-war economic history. Europe is living its darkest economic days since the 1930s.

Due to the growing importance of the topic and due to the diffusion of social media platforms, in recent months there has been a proliferation of “economic blogging” (and tweeting). Opinion, thoughts and reactions abound online trying to make sense of what future awaits the Eurozone.

Considering VAT increases, along with salary, pension and benefit cuts, some basic goods are becoming less affordable. Indian blogger Deepankar Basu wrote on the indian economic website Sanhati:

These [austerity] measures reduce expenditure and increase taxes in order to reduce government deficits. Cutbacks in government spending and increases in taxes, at this particular moment, however, amount to the worst possible policy stance, reducing aggregate demand even further, and pushing the economies deeper into recession.

Sovereign debts, junk ratings: protests take to the street

Camp site at Puerta del Sol, Madrid, Spain. Photo by Julio Albarrán, republished under a CC License.

The crisis is perceived to have started within three countries - Ireland, Greece and Portugal - but quickly spread to Spain and Italy.

Since the international rating agencies gave their assessments (ratings) for each national solvency (the ability to pay public debt) it seemed they “held the wand” over the Eurozone’s future. This power over the fate of each state provoked strong debates all over Europe, with many questioning the legitimacy of their analysis.

In Portugal, for example, there was a strong commotion and reaction when the independent American financial analysis firm Moody's called Portuguese debt “junk debt”.

But the core of the protests occurred in May. It all started in Spain with the 15M movement, mainly coordinated by the youth organization Democracia Real Ya [es], which was extremely active online and organized massive demonstrations against corruption, unemployment, and a political structure allegedly favouring a two-party system.

The acampadas born in Plaza del Sol in Madrid quickly “infected” other Spanish cities, such as Barcelona, Sevilla and Malaga. In a few weeks other movements became active in other European Countries and globally, later the Occupy Wall Street movement.

"#campmap for "#worldrevolution" - More than 600 demonstrations and camp outs were ignited in solidarity with Spanish protesters by the end of May, 2011.

Some, including mainstream media [es], soon made connections between the the so-called Spanish Revolution and the Arab Spring.

Como si se tratara de la plaza Tahrir, en Egipto, escenario de las protestas populares[es]. El caldo de cultivo del derrocamiento de Hosni Mubarak. Esto es distinto pero puede ser el embrión de algo. Quién sabe.

Solidarity to the Spanish movement came soon from Greece, which has been the first European Union country to taste the sting of IMF/ECB austerity since 2010. Particularly in Greece the anti-austerity protests have been strongest. In June there were peaceful protests and gatherings at Syntagma (Constitution) Square, and when protesters planned to surround the House of the Parliament the day for which the vote for the Mid-Term Austerity Programme had been scheduled, there were violent clashes with the police.

Protests and demonstrations continued over the summer especially in Spain and Greece. But only the big reforms and the austerity plans widely adopted in “PIIGS” countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) late in the autumn marked a turning point of the European debt crisis.

“Blood and Tears”: the austerity recipe

The pressure of the financial markets and recommendations coming from European Commission urged some governments to adopt  so-called austerity measures aimed at eliminating unsustainable budget deficits. Recipes seem to have some common traits across countries: cuts on social spending and social services, additional taxes, VAT increases and salary cuts with citizens paying for the crisis.

In Spain the intense social debate over the economic recovery plan led to new protest in September when the #reformazo (#bigreform) was announced. Spain, and later Italy, decided to introduce constitutional changes to limit public spending (budgetary stability). In turn, there were protests throughout the country organized by the assemblies of Puerta del Sol and by the entire 15M movement against what Real Democracy Now! has called the Financial Coup D'État.

Runner statue mocked up as a rioter. Photo courtesy of the Athens indignants' multimedia team, licensed as CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

In Greece in October there was an unprecedented protest during the ‘Ochi Day‘ (No Day) Parade since Greeks were angry for the relentless and ineffective austerity measures, culminating in the “haircut” deal negotiated by banks and European politicians, which many fear signifies the beginning of a new foreign “occupation” of the country.

The impact of the austerity recipes have been particularly severe in Greece where suicides and criminality are mounting, and where social and health assistance is becoming more and more expensive. The reportedly high cost (that can reach 1000 euros) for childbirth in public hospitals is only one example of adverse social impacts of the current crisis.

But there are also chronicles of the victims of the explosive cocktail of the housing bubble, the financial crisis, and high unemployment rates. Thousands of families are now without homes. A large campaign started in Spain against housing speculation, to stop evictions and relocate families to unused buildings.

Mobilizing on the streets and the Internet

Apart from economic issues and their implications for the people of European countries, democratic participation and citizenship rights occupy the public debate. The massive participation in protests and demonstrations against austerity measures - both online and in the streets - was something new on the European political scene.

Many, such as in Portugal, have pointed out there was an alternative to the top-down measures imposed by EC, IMF and ECB so that the Iceland’s practice of direct democracy became a model. Since Iceland refused an international bailout, many argued that there could be a different solution for the current crisis than ten years of severe budget restrictions to bail out bondholders.

But there was also another issue that emerged in recent months, since there have been crucial changes of government in three European countries. While in Spain the change was due to early elections, the new prime ministers in Greece and in Italy were chosen by the head of state, without any popular approval.

The resignation of Silvio Berlusconi in Italy was particularly important not only for the country, but for the whole European Union, since the country needed to calm financial markets in order to keep interest rates on sovereign debt under control. After the “Party for Berlusconi's resignation” soon Italians and Europeans involved in the crisis had to face the ugly reality they have to live with.

As Europe’s financial woes intensify, austerity reigns, the crisis deepens and economists are forecasting an (unprecedented?) recession, maybe 2011 will be remembered as a “lost year” of the European economic history.

This page is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis and 2011 on Global Voices.

Written by Paola D'Orazio · comments (2)
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Portuguese language and culture

In February we covered several blogs that gave voice to their love of the Portuguese language, paying tribute to the great variety of dialects spoken by more than 200 million people worldwide.

Hau nia lian, hau nia rain (My language, my country). Photo by Sapo Noticias Timor Leste (public domain)

In May the newspaper @Verdade, our partner in Mozambique, described Portuguese as a language that is bound up in what it means to be Mozambican.

In its coverage of Timor Leste, Global Voices examined the role of languages in asserting the identity of a country which has 16 national languages and dozens of dialects. Some blogs on Cape Verde also suggested that there are “distinct social functions” for both the language spoken by the people, Crioulo, and the official language, Portuguese.

Online demonstrations brought a more political dimension to bear on this issue, with heated reactions to the proposal for Equatorial Guinea to become a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, despite having a poor track record on human rights.

Brazil: Paths towards Development

In spite of the current global crisis, Brazil is experiencing a period of economic optimism fuelled by domestic consumption. In order to maintain this growth, ongoing development policy in the country has been putting pressure on the environment and human rights.

The social cost of the rising demand for biofuels: the indigenous Guarani Kaoiwa community of Laranjeira Nhanderu were expelled from their lands 14 months ago to make way for sugarcane plantations. Photo by Annabel Symington, copyright Demotix (10/21/10).

The Amazon rainforest is seen as potential land for agriculture and as a source of raw materials and energy. Brazil's new forestry code, which regulates the use of the country's forests, has led to concerns and public demonstrations against the encouragement of farming and deforestation. “Green” agribusiness focused on biofuels and the replacement of felled trees with eucalyptus plantations have been shown to be unsustainable practices in both social and environmental terms. The dispute for land provoked by agribusiness led to the killing of activists and indigenous leaders during 2011. Yet Brazil is persisting in exporting its agribusiness model to other countries, such as Mozambique, regardless.

Coverage of events surrounding the Belo Monte Dam certainly caused the greatest outcry this year, uniting environmentalists, indigenous people and Brazilians living alongside the affected rivers. Protests in the immediate area of the dam and in major cities attracted international attention and challenged the human rights policy of Dilma Rousseff's government. This action did not wane after construction of the plant began, but rather took on different forms, including an Occupy protest by the Tupiniquim people and court cases.

These and related issues have been organised into four special features: Forest Focus: Amazon, Dossiê Belo Monte [only in pt], Indigenous Rights and Global Development.

Portugal: Crisis, Austerity and Protests

From the “Scraping-by Generation” protest in March to participation in the global protests on 15 October, Portugal has seen its political and economic crisis reach unprecedented proportions in 2011, with the fall of a government and the EU committee coming into the country to effect the financial “rescue” of public debt.

Keep calm and protest: outraged protesters outside Porto Town Hall. Photo by the protest organisers, 15 October.

Netizens took to social networks to mobilise action against severe austerity measures and to speak out in opposition to the racket conducted by the rating agencies, but also to gain inspiration from other countries, such as Iceland, on other forms of public participation.

Having launched a page devoted to special coverage of the current situation, Europe in Crisis, in September, Global Voices has acted as a bridge between different languages and has facilitated greater dialogue between outraged citizens from European countries that are suffering similar problems.

Angola: 32 Years in Power sparks Protests

In Angola the sense of revolt against the 32-year government led by José Eduardo dos Santos is becoming increasingly palpable in the streets and on the internet. Protests would have begun in March had the government not been successful in pre-empting them.

In September the police used heavy force to break up a protest, resulting in at least 18 protesters receiving prison sentences. Against all expectations, the movement has regrouped, while the number of citizen reporters in the country is also on the increase.

Video uploaded to the post Angola: Videos of Repressed Youth Protest in Luanda

Internet and the digital culture in Brazil

The fruits of increasingly widespread access to the internet in Brazil were borne out in 2011 by many creative, collective and effective examples of action. One such case was the mobilisation of social networks to take down a paedophile blog, and the call put out on Facebook to join in the unique “Different People's Big Barbeque Protest” in an upscale São Paulo neighbourhood.

Protest poster which reads "We want to be Maria Bethania", organised by Leon Prado on Facebook.

The online arena has also been the scene for a number of less auspicious episodes related to digital culture. In January the Ministry of Culture announced that it was abandoning Creative Commons licensing on its site, a blatant step backwards in public policy on the internet and copyright. Shortly afterwards, in March, the same ministry allowed the famous signer Maria Bethânia to raise 1.3 million reais tax-free for the creation of a poetry blog, thereby rousing the ire of bloggers, the twitterati and activists involved in the cultural sphere.

Cases of online censorship continue to crop up and, on occasion, overflow into the non-virtual world, with attacks on bloggers who are critical of the authorities.

In December we became aware of renewed death threats made against Ricardo Gama, who blogs against cases of the abuse of power and other irregularities by the Brazilian police. Gama had already been shot in an attack in Rio de Janeiro in March. Towards the end of this year, many were not convinced by the reason of “suicide by hanging” given for the death of Hamilton Alexandre, a controversial blogger from Santa Catarina, and social networks are being used to call for a thorough investigation of the case.

In 2012 we will continue to listen to the stories that are being told by the citizens of the world through the internet, and to amplify them so that they reach a global audience. Our doors are always open to anyone who wants to get involved in what Super magazine earlier this year dubbed “one of the 10 coolest projects on the internet”.

Written by Sara Moreira · Translated by Maisie Fitzpatrick · View original post [pt] · comments (1)
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Written by Ana Vasquez · Translated by Janet Gunter · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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Multicolor handprints on white cloth. Image by Flickr user John-Morgan (CC BY 2.0).

The Plural + Youth Video Festival set out to recognize youth as powerful agents of social change; in the Awards Ceremony they commended young filmmakers for their winning efforts.

Let's see some of the winning videos:  GIFT was created by Pang Jia Wei, Ryan Tan Chuan Min and the Tunku Abdul Rahman College in Malaysia and the video won in the 18-25 year old category. In it, we can see and hear how it takes diversity to build a nation.

The New Portuguese is a short documentary on immigrants in Portugal: whether they are immigrating to the capital city of Lisbon from their hometowns or whether their parents moved to Portugal where they were born, they all struggle for acceptance and a place in the city and country they call home.

Wish is a short film about families in China. It tells the story of a boy living with his grandfather while his parents work in a far away city, and how doing what is economically best for a child may turn out to be more challenging than planned.

I am Quiaqueña is the musing of a young woman born in the border between Argentina and Bolivia, and how belonging somewhere is not as easy when geography and politics get in the way.

Having many similarities may not be enough when there is a difference that is considered greater… that is the case of Between Us Two, from Israel.

Our Hood has the Wafalme Crew, a musical group composed of street kids who live in the ghettos of Nairobi, Kenya sing and tell the story of how music changed their lives for the better, teaching them about how to rise up to challenges and keep a positive outlook in life.

A young man writes to his father who has spent his whole life working far away from his home in Exile Song, reminding him that when he wishes to hear the thrushes and see the palm trees… all he has to do is come back home.

In Belong, different immigrants in Finland discuss their experience in living away from their homelands, and what are the things that make them feel that they belong in their new home.

You can see the other winning videos on the Plural + Youth Video Award Page.

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[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted]

The non-partisan, secular and peaceful protest arranged [en] for the October 15 in Portugal,  calling for “participatory democracy, transparency in policy and the end of the precariousness of life”, gathered around 80,000 “indignados” (protestors) in the main squares of eight cities around the country.

Two days before on October 13, 2011, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho announced historic cuts for public servants, which provided mottos for many of the posters taken to the streets by demonstrators. Online platforms were used to share photo and video reports of events.

October 15 Demonstration in Porto. Photo by José Ferreira (used with permission).

Protest in Lisbon

YouTube user João Pedro (immortaltechpt), who shared two videos of the events, sums up the motivation and the course of the day of action in Lisbon:

desde o Marquês de Pombal até S. Bento. A manifestação regeu-se principalmente por uma discórdia para com as medidas de austeridade adoptadas para fazer frente à crise. Adicionalmente expressou-se a vontade de reformar a sociedade e fazer uma transição para uma democracia mais participativa/directa.

Concentration in Marquês de Pombal, Lisbon. Photo by José M. on Foursquare

After the preparation for the event [photos], those who went by subway to the gathering in Marquês de Pombal might have noticed that the names of the stations had been changed. The direct action O Metro é das pessoas, não é das marcas (The Metro belongs to the people, not to the brands) against the change of the name of the emblematic station Baixa-Chiado, which is now called Baixa-Chiado PT Bluestation following sponsorship by the company Portugal Telecom, proposes a reflection about the privatization of public spaces in times of crisis, playing with words: “Entre-estágios” (Between internships) instead of the station “Entrecampos” (Between fields), or “Baixa-Empregabilidade” (Low employability) for the station “Baixa-Chiado” (Low Chiado).

From the subway to the streets, the following video compiles a selection of photos by Paulete Matos:

The march continued with intervention songs recorded in several citizen-videos such as this one and the following:

The destination was São Bento Street and eventually the occupation of Parliament's steps [videos]:

March of the Indignados. Photo by Debora Baldelli for Global Voices Online.

"This afternoon (October 15) in Lisboa, next to the Assembly of the Republic (4:38pm, before the confusion) #15outubro (#October15)". Photo by Luis Galrão on Twitpic

On Twitter, the hashtag #15oPT made it to the national trending topics, but also #15outubro was used to a lesser extent to report the day of protests. Some of the most active users of this tool directly from the demonstration were the journalist Sara Marques, through her personal account (@sara_marques) and Luis Galrão (@LGalrao), who stated that it is “clear that Twitter is not the elected channel by the lusos (Portuguese) #indignados”.

Occupy Lisbon Begins (15/10/2011). Photo by Fernando Mendes copyright Demotix.

A People's Assembly was organized afterwards with around 100 players and several approved proposals, such as the permanence of the occupation, the call for initiatives of peaceful civil disobedience, and a new demonstration on 26 November.

"This Government is a thief because it steals our bread". Demonstrator in Porto. Photo by Diana Rui - www.dianarui.net (used with permission)

An anonymous indignado wrote a few thoughts about the organization of the people's assembly, the proposals presented and the time of voting, as he believes that some points may be “not so readily discernible to anyone who makes contact with the event from the outside, through the media”, and he concludes:

é imperioso [pensar] as assembleias como um local de construção de saber e de emancipação e não como um palanque de exposição de pessoas mais atrevidas e eloquentes. É imperioso usar metodologias comprovadas de organização da participação popular. Temos que nos socorrer de profissionais que fazem do estímulo à participação pública o seu mester, para que com eles/elas possamos criar assembleias verdadeiramente participativas. É imperioso também que as organizações/associações/colectivos das sociedade civil sem vínculos partidários se assomem a este processo, minimizando a influência que certos partidos com respectivas agendas têm, para que as assembleias sejam uma verdadeira mostra da vontade das pessoas e não da vontade de certos partidos ou facções.

Action in Porto

In the city of Porto around 15,000 demonstrators marched from Batalha Square to Liberdade Square:

Concentration in Batalha Square. Photo shared by the October 15 organization in Porto

March on the Passos Manuel Street. Photo shared by October 15 organization in Porto

An overview of the demonstration on the Aliados Avenue was recorded on video:

"They steal the people to give to the wealthy… I prefer Robin Hood. Direct Democracy". World Revolution for Real Democracy in Porto (15/10/2011). Photo by Pedro Ferreira, copyright Demotix.

Keep calm and protest. Indignados in front of the City Hall. Photo shared by the organization of October 15 in Porto.

"The governments piss all over us! Media tells us it is raining!" (Coimbra, 15/10/2011). Photo by Aurélio Malva shared on Facebook.

The Porto protest also ended with a people's assembly; a list of proposals (not yet available online) will be discussed next Saturday, October 23, in Liberdade Square.

In the aftermath of the protests, Rui Rocha, from the blog Delito de Opinião, wonders if “is there anyone out there who is not indignant“. Through a brief comparative analysis of the October 15 marches and the Scraping-by Generation protests of March 12 - “less protesters in a more degraded social and economical context than then”, he adds:

para lá de tudo isso, das comparações, dos mensageiros, dos propósitos e do contexto, sobra uma mensagem que é impossível ignorar. A de que paira sobre nós um nevoeiro de injustiça, de desequilíbrio, de distribuição enviesada que não pode deixar-nos indiferentes. E, se os motivos, os percursos e as soluções não são consensuais ou mesmo aceitáveis, fica, apesar de tudo, um sentimento de indignação que merece ser partilhado e que tem muito mais adesão do que aquela que hoje foi visível nas nossas ruas.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis and #Occupy Worldwide.

Written by Sara Moreira · Translated by Sara Moreira · View original post [pt] · comments (1)
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In Portugal, on the global action day [pt] scheduled for October 15, 2011, ‘democracy will go on to the streets'. The non-partisan, secular and peaceful protest is being arranged in the main cities of the country, calling for “participatory democracy, transparency in policy and the end of the precariousness of life”:

A actual governação assenta numa falsa democracia em que as decisões estão restritas às salas fechadas dos parlamentos, gabinetes ministeriais e instâncias internacionais. Um sistema sem qualquer tipo de controlo cidadão, refém de um modelo económico-financeiro, sem preocupações sociais ou ambientais e que fomenta as desigualdades, a pobreza e a perda de direitos à escala global. Democracia não é isto!

Democracy goes out to the streets: schedule of the demonstrations in the main Portuguese cities.

In the various manifestos [pt] that are in circulation, there is widespread discontent with the ruling neo-liberal policies and towards the measures of social cuts and privatization of public services imposed by the”troika” (International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission), to tackle the economic crisis the country is experiencing.

More specific claims have been added to the manifest by the citizens of each city where the 15 October is being organized, as in the case of collective city of Porto, which points out:

- retirem o memorando. vão embora. não queremos o governo do FMI e da troika!
- nacionalização da banca – com os planos de resgate, o estado tem pago à banca para especular
- abram as contas da dívida – queremos saber para onde foi o dinheiro
- não ao pagamento da dívida ilegítima. esta dívida não é nossa – não devemos nada, não vendemos nada, não vamos pagar nada!
- queremos ver redistribuídas radicalmente as riquezas e a política fiscal mudada, para fazer pagar mais a quem mais tem: aos banqueiros, ao capital e aos que não pagam impostos.

Dispersion in online mobilization

We are many, we are not afraid! Poster by Gui Castro Felga for October 15

Unlike what happened in the run-up to the Geração à Rasca (The ‘Scraping-By' Generation) event on March 12, 2011, in which more than 70,000 people confirmed their attendance via a Facebook event (and hundreds of thousands took to the streets), participant numbers in advance for 15 October for each of the mobilizing cities - Angra do Heroísmo, Braga, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Lisboa, Porto and Santarém - are very low.

More than one thousand confirmations have only been exceeded in Lisbon (6,594) and Porto (1,720) [at the time this article was published]. The main Facebook page created for this purpose, has only gathered 1,437 likes.

One must wait for the October 15 to verify if these numbers represent a lack of interest in the mobilizations or if they are the result of dispersion of online presence in social networks. Meanwhile, calls for preparatory assemblies and collective creation of posters, banners and other media in various courts throughout the country have multiplied via Facebook.

A group of citizens involved in the organization of October 15 has set up a video entitled ‘Do not make excuses!', aimed at mocking the motivations of those who decide not to go into the streets:

Mainstream media has not been giving much attention to the organization of the demonstration. News channels [pt] have reported on the government's fear that ‘the social peace will be disturbed' as a result of the event. The organization has repudiated this possibility in a press release. Renato Teixeira from 5dias.net blog, outlined [pt] the government's statements as a “strategy of fear” to ward the “indignados” off the streets.

Tomás Vasquez, from the blog Hoje Há Conquilhas, comments [pt] a report on the demonstration of March 12 which was aired recently on one of the main Portuguese television channels:

a peça televisiva terminou assim: «A polícia teme que esta movimentação social possa provocar tumultos, os maiores desde 1975». O mundo está a ficar perigoso, os senhores do dinheiro põem e dispõem; a Europa está de rastos e quem paga a factura dos desmandos financeiros são sempre os mesmos, mas quando cidadãos querem mostrar o seu desagrado e «mijam fora do penico» ficam todos em pânico. Compreender os fenómenos sociais e políticos novos em vez de os atacar com caçadeira de canos cerrados é a melhor maneira de contribuir para uma sociedade mais justa e igualitária que cada vez se afasta mais do nosso horizonte.

To finalize, the blog Ladrões de Gado shares [pt] a reflection on collective mobilization:

Quero aprender com todas as experiências que levaram a luta pela emancipação do mundo a algum lado, por mais tenebrosa que tenha sido a derrota. Quero saber das meias vitórias e não do número de pessoas na rua das 15h às 21h de um dia qualquer. (…) É preciso que toda a gente se junte, sim, mas contra o que vivemos agora (e o que temos vivido até agora) e não só por si. (…) A quantidade de vezes que leio e oiço ‹‹eu›› e ‹‹tu›› nestas convocações para o 15 de Outubro faz-me alguma coisa confusão. Não que cada um não seja uma pessoa diferente, (…) mas o que está aqui em causa não é eu e tu, somos nós e a forma como queremos viver uns com os outros.

This post is part of our special coverage page Europe in Crisis.

Written by Sara Moreira · Translated by Sara Moreira · View original post [pt] · comments (2)
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In the same week in April that former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates announced the need for an international financial bailout to pay for its public debt of 80 billion Euros, Icelanders went to the polls to reject tax payers participation in the “Icesave” bank bailout deal.

Though Iceland’s practice of direct democracy, renunciation of an international bailout and economic recovery in two years has not been properly covered by the Portuguese mainstream media, bloggers are analysing and getting inspired by the story.

Reykjavik Protest, 2008. Photo by Kristine Lowe on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Clavis Prophetarum [pseudonymn], from the blog Quintus, tells why he thinks Iceland’s “brave resistance to the political-financial complex that ademocratically rules the European Union nowadays” is being ignored [pt]:

A opção islandesa não serviu os interesses dos bancos europeus, logo estes têm todo o interesse em que se não fale dela nem que esta possível via chegue aos ouvidos dos cidadãos.

Quando em 2007, a Islândia foi o primeiro país europeus a soçobrar perante a crise mundial, declarando bancarrota por causa da falência do seu maior banco muitos desconsideraram o impacto de tal crise alegando que se tratava apenas de um pequeno país com pouco mais de meio milhão de habitantes e que seria facilmente “socorrido” por um empréstimo do FMI. O problema foi que na Islândia a “ajuda” do FMI foi levada a referendo e… derrotada.

He adds that in Portugal also, “the solution for the current crisis cannot rely on ten years of severe budget restrictions to keep the banks that have greedily and unbridledly lent us money”.

The national ballot is just one of the “lessons” [pt] for Portugal and the rest of the European countries to learn from Iceland, as the online news platform i reports [pt]. The people have also organized sit-ins in front of the Parliament demanding the fall of the conservative government, have taken those responsible for the crisis to justice - including the former prime minister Geir Haarde whose trial started last Monday, September 5 - and a new crowdsourced constitution is in the works.

“Do you think that we in Portugal should do the same that you do?”

In a video by Miguel Marques, a group of Portuguese citizens ask Icelanders about their social mobilization:

How did the unions in Iceland took [sic] position and saw [sic] themselves as players in the movements of the resistance against the debt crisis in Iceland and all over europe? (…)

How are you Icelanders organizing yourselves to make a better future for you?

(…) What’s happening now? What are you still doing? What are you struggling for and what do you think is worth fighting for, like the constitution? Is this constitution really separating the powers - economical, political, religious? How do you think it will help? What things do you want the constitution to help change? (…)

What are you doing now? The popular movements… are you still gathering? Are you organized in small groups? Did people split like the four of them who were elected? Do you have small groups of interests?

(…) Whether you people in Europe, and us here in the south, if we could find a way to get together and get what’s wrong with the whole of the system, capitalist system of course? How can we actually create a network of help in which we could actually propose a whole new system for Europe and beyond? Go Iceland people!

For Miguel Madeira, from the blog Vias de Facto [pt], “the relative Icelandic success is more the result of popular mobilization than of ‘new governments'”. In a comment [pt] to his post, Fernando Ribeiro starts by highlighting the fact that in Iceland there was no need for “violent clashes” and considers that whereas “in Greece, Ireland and Portugal the political class didn’t - and will not - consult the voters it represents when making such important decisions as falling back on the European fund”. It is important to:

requerer abertamente mais democracia na hora das tomadas de decisão fundamentais, e ultrapassar o argumento caduco da democracia liberal em que a democracia representativa funciona assim mesmo.

Icelanders are not only demanding more democracy but also taking part in “the ultimate affirmation of participatory democracy. (…) Democracy 2.0″, through a new crowdsourced constitution to be debated in the Parliament in October. Paula Thomaz from Carta Capital sums up the process [pt]:

a discussão para a nova [constituição] islandesa se dá através de vídeos do Youtube em tempo real, que mostram os debates do Conselho; fotos no Flickr; pequenas frases no Twitter; no site oficial dos temas (em islandês e em inglês); e no Facebook é que as ideias estão abertas para discussão.

To wrap up a thorough analysis on Iceland’s response to the crisis, in an opinion article [pt] originally published in the website Noticias do Douro and widely shared online, engineer and public servant Fernando Gouveia, writes:

Se isto servir para esclarecer uma única pessoa que seja deste pobre país aqui plantado no fundo da Europa, que por cá anda sem eira nem beira ao sabor dos acordos milionários que os seus governantes acertam com o capital internacional, e onde os seus cidadãos passam fome para que as contas dos corruptos se encham até abarrotar, já posso dar por bem empregue o tempo que levei a escrever este artigo.

This page is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Written by Sara Moreira · comments (1)
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