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Germany: #Blockupy Protests Against Pan-European Austerity

Sara Moreira — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:16:32 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis

‘Blockupy‘ protests against “the widespread impoverishment and denial of democratic rights occurring in the Eurozone as part of a global systemic crisis” shook the financial epicenter of Europe - Frankfurt - last week.

Following the global action days on 12 and 15 May, 2012, (12M and 15M), activists from across Europe were called to converge in Frankfurt in an international solidarity demonstration. The ultimate goal was to blockade the European Central Bank (ECB) and other crucial global capitalism institutions. On May 4, however, the Frankfurt Municipal Department for Public Order announced that all actions planned were deemed illegal, except for a rally on Saturday, May 19.

Occupy Frankfurt in front of ECB. Photo shared by Roarmag.org (copyleft).

Still, thousands of activists decided to take a stand against the ban and claim the constitutional right “of unarmed assembly, without either prior registration or permission”.

While international mainstream media didn't give much attention to the events, online social networks buzzed with citizen reports on the mobilizations that occurred under massive police presence and repression.

On Twitter many videos and photos were shared under the hashtag #Blockupy. Netizens and collectives from different countries, such as Occupy Brussels and Belgium, livestreamed the protests, marches and assemblies, as well as the cultural program and diverse debates on labor, ecology, economy among others.

“Demonstrate for the right to demonstrate”

Blockupy started on the same day that newly elected French President Hollande met Chancellor Merkel [fr] in Berlin, May 16. Meanwhile in Frankfurt, the police complied with the order of eviction of the seven month long Occupy Frankfurt settlement around the Euro sign near the ECB headquarters. The blog Critical Legal Thinking, which had a comprehensive coverage of the four days of protest, described the city as “effectively in [undeclared] State of Exception“.

Police intercept three Berlin buses on the way to #Frankfurt. Photo by @Blockupy on Twitter.

On May 17, a bank holiday, as mainstream media directed the spotlight to the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble - who was awarded the Charlemagne Prize for his major role in the definition of the austerity policies mostly imposed on the periphery European countries - buses filled with activists from different cities heading to the anti-austerity demonstration in the center of Frankfurt, were stopped from entering the city and escorted back by the police.

Despite the attempts of intimidation, around 2,000 activists managed, at least for a few hours, to occupy the historic Roemerberg square where the city hall is based, and which represents the birth of democracy in Germany.

Blockupy protesters take action against banking and finance system. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

The square was soon surrounded by the riot police:

Protesters sit down and lock arms in opposition to police presence. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Soesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

At the end of the day riot police evicted the square with violence, as different photo reporters [de] illustrated:

A protester is detained by police. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

The detention of at least 400 protesters of different nationalities triggered solidarity protests in different cities across Europe:

Embassy of Germany in Rome - Protest against repression and arrests in Frankfurt during the protests against the crisis. Signs against the Rome-Berlin axis, the ECB and Merkel. Photo by Simona Granati, copyright Demotix (May 18, 2012).

A video report by Finnish user of YouTube sydansalama1, with interviews subtitled in English, sums up the events of the day:

The staff of banks were told by their employees to take the day off or work from home to avoid having to come into the city on Friday, May 18 - the day when the blockade to the financial district was expected to take place. However, as Jerome Ross from Roar Magazine wrote the night before, “Frankfurt [is] on lock-down as over 5,000 police [are] deployed in an unprecedented operation to keep protesters out of the city and away from the banks”:

as the activists here prepare to physically block the headquarters of the European Central Bank, the police already seems to have done the job for them.

"I block! You too?" Photo by ateneinrivolta on Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).

That day, international mainstream media reported on Goldman Sachs being hired by the Spanish government to evaluate banking conglomerate Bankia, taken over by the state earlier in May, and also about rumors of a referendum in Greece to ballot the membership in the Eurozone. In Frankfurt, while banners read messages of support to the European southern countries (such as “We are all Greeks“), the city remained “affected by massive police presence, identity checks and road blocks“.

When the legal day for protesting finally arrived, May 19, around 20,000 protesters (according to the police, or more than 25,000 according to the organization) rallied the city center.

Blockupy Demonstration in Frankfurt. A large banner held up by protesters reads: 'International resistance against the Austerity Imposed by the Troika and Governments.'. Photo by Michele Lapini copyright Demotix (May 19, 2012).

Blockupy Frankfurt: More than 20,000 against financial crisis politics. International participants in the demonstration. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser copyright Demotix (May 19, 2012).

Blockupy demo (May 19, 2012). Photo by strassenstriche.net on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

John Halloway, writing for the Guardian, described Blockupy as “a glimmer of hope in times of austerity“, and argued that it would bring momentum to “explosions of creative anger that will follow”. International policy analyst Vinay Gupta, finalizes:

Those people in the streets rioting, the protesting classes, are fighting not for internal political change within their own countries, but (whether they know it or not) for a re-arrangement of the political balance of an entire continent.

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

Spain: 12M, a Ray of Sun in the Midst of the Crisis

Greg Ahlswede — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:11:50 +0000

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

On the 12th of May (12M), the Indignado movement demonstrated not only that it is alive and well, but that in fact it continues to have strong social support. A little less than a year after its birth, the 15m (the movement's name after the date it began May 15, 2011) has once again brought together tens of thousands of people unhappy and angry with the government's actions and handling of the European crisis.

Although the demonstrations took place on a global level, Madrid and Barcelona once again took the leading roles of the Indignado movement. A mass protest was carried out around 8 in the evening on May 12th in the Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun) in Madrid, an emblem of this social revolution. The four marches coming from the four cardinal points of the capital culminated at the central plaza in a peaceful and festive atmosphere. At 10pm, the time that the government had specified as the end of the demonstration's legality, Kilometer Zero (Sol) continued to be full of people and the police did not try to break up the gathering. Just as was planned, at midnight the crowd let out a silent cry after which they took up again the cries of demands, the drum circles, and the cheers. They also sang “Happy Birthday” to celebrate one year of the Indignado movement. Next, the demonstrators spoke directly to the officers through repeated cries of: “Police, join us!”

"The key is in the Sun (Sol)" a poster says in the Madrid plaza. Photo by Elena Arrontes.

Nevertheless, in the early morning hours the authorities intervened to keep around 300 remaining demonstrators from camping in the center. They have taken action in several Spanish cities. The previous year, the movement was uninterrupted and the “Indignados” were able to stay in the streets where they had organized meetings and other activities. This time, those present responded with cries of “No violence,” but all were forced to leave and there were 18 arrested. In the following days, the “Indignados” returned to the plazas. On the Internet, they are denouncing the police actions, the attempt to create fear and to silence their voices.

The blog #AcampadaSol (#CampSol)[es] for its part posted a release from the Sol Legal Commission regarding the events. It came to the following conclusion:

Una vez más, los derechos se conquistan ejerciéndolos. Porque el espacio público es patrimonio de la ciudadanía, un ágora de intercambio de ideas sobre aquello que nos afecta para la contrucción colectiva de un futuro común. Esta es una de las premisas sobre las que ha de asentarse un estado que aspire a considerarse democrático.

Once again, rights are won through their exercise. Because public space is a partimony of the citizens, an agora where there is an exchange of ideas about that which affects our collective construction of a common future. This is one of the premises on which a state that aspires to consider itself democratic must establish itself.

In his post The removal from Sol and the biggest humiliation of my life [es] the blogger Principia Marsupia, after experiencing the forced removal, shared his observations which are now circulating on social networks:

En mi opinión, el gobierno debería sentirse muy satisfecho de que la desesperación generada por la crisis se canalice en un movimiento como el 15M, mayoritariamente pacífico. Basta recordar episodios pasados de sufrimiento social (cierre de astilleros en Galicia o de explotaciones mineras en Asturias) para comprender que cuando manda la desesperanza, la violencia estalla. En el pasado, los ingredientes habituales de una protesta eran las barricadas de neumáticos ardiendo y los cócteles molotov. El símbolo 15M son las tiendas de campaña.

In my opinion, the government should feel very happy that the desperation created by the crisis has been channeled into a movement like 15M, which is mainly peaceful. One only has to remember past episodes of social suffering (the closure of shipyards in Galicia or mining operations in Asturias) to realize that when despair is in control, violence breaks out. In the past, the regular ingredients of a protest were barricades of burning tires and Molotov cocktails. The symbol of 15M is camping tents.

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

Russia: State TV Justifies May 6 Police Violence, Cites Spanish Bill Criminalizing Online Protest Organization as Example

Veronica Khokhlova — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:42:31 +0000

In the final segment of the report [ru] on the May 6 protest in Moscow, which ended in clashes with riot police, the Russian state-owned Channel 1 mentioned, among other things, a Spanish draft law [en] criminalizing online organization of public protests, as an example of the “much tougher” treatment of protesters by the “colleagues” of the Russian law enforcement officials “in the countries with the so-called established democracy.”

Spain: The “Indignados” of the 15M

Elizabeth — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:17:56 +0000

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

The date for the first citizen protest in Barcelona to celebrate the first anniversary of 15M (May 15th) was on Saturday 12M (May 12th) at 6pm in Catalunya Plaza. Sixty-one year-old Mari Ángeles left her place in El Prat, a neighborhood close to the airport within the city limits. With a group of neighbors, she took the banners they had prepared and rode the bus to Spain Plaza. There they met other members of the “southern column” which had already marched for a couple of hours starting at Cornellà near mid-day.

Miguel Ángel, 44 years old, joined the protest when it was passing by Esplugues. Sixty-nine year old Josep Maria did the same when it arrived to the Les Corts neighborhood. Karlos, also 44, stepped in carrying a backpack with all the necessary items to camp at the plaza until 15M.

Miguel Ángel. Photo by Lali Sandiumenge.

All except Karlos, who lived in Mexico some years and supported the Zapatista movement, had never been involved in any social or political activity before 15M. Since May 15th, 2011, they haven't stopped. Mari Ángeles is a member of the platform El Prat against cuts [ca] that denounces the austerity measures with which the Catalan government is amputating the welfare state; Miguel Ángel belongs to Aturem Eurovegas [ca] (Stop Eurovegas) to prevent the multimillionaire American mogul Sheldon Adelson to transform Llobregat river delta into a huge and complex casino and entertainment compound. Josep Maria has signed in recently to Iaioflautas, a group of retired workers hardened by the anti-Franco, left-wing, union struggle.

Karlos has found an escape valve. “I'm living this wake up with a lot of hope,” he said. “We, the restless people, were in a helpless situation and with 15M we found each other.”

Josep Maria. Picture by Lali Sandiumenge.

There are many reasons why people have taken action, but the main one is - and everybody agrees - that the situation has to change. “The prospect is raw, more than ever with so many cuts in Catalunya, we'll see how this ends,” said Miguel Ángel. “I have neighbors that are agonizing. If we keep going this way, there's going to be a civil revolution.”

There's no need to ask Josep Maria what he's thinking: the banners that cover his body are very eloquent. “We denounce is that in our society nobody cares about inequality and that the 1% and 99% is not about entelechy,” he commented to sum it up explaining that has researched and asked about the income levels of Spanish people - without success - to elaborate his own Lorenz curve. The outrage is so high, he added, that he doesn't rule out camping and spending the night at the plaza even though he is not young enough to be sleeping out in the open on top of anything.

There are also personal reasons. Miguel Ángel, a creative, lost his job at the Spanish auto-maker Seat four years ago and he hasn't been able to find another one. His strike subsidy is over and he's been struggling to live with what is left from his compensation.

Mari Ángeles. Photo by Lali Sandiumenge.

Mari Ángeles was forced to take an early retirement a year ago from a private health company. Her pension doesn't even reach 500 Euros free of taxes and it is not enough to live with her son, a grown man, so now they share his home. “My son is at the strike. He's studying English like crazy so he can look for a job outside in England or Canada,” she explained, although she interrupts herself often to join the chants her companions make to the cars that get impatient with the protest: “Don't look at us, join us!” Josep Maria, on the contrary, has a good pension. “If the distribution of wealth was more just, I would end up losing,” he declared while walking to Catalunya Plaza without hurrying, but also without pausing.

Desi (left) and Raquel collecting signatures for ILP. Photo taken by Lali Sandiumenge.

When it arrived to Catalunya Plaza, at the end of Grace Roadway, the protest converged with other columns that arrived from other parts of the city and beyond. At that spot, Desi and Raquel, 33 and 31 years-old respectively, installed a portable table to collect signatures to support the Popular Legislation Initiative (ILP) promoted by the Plataform of Mortgage Victims (PAH) [es] that is fighting for the approval of a law that rules a retroactive payment.

Both are dressed up in the green t-shirts that distinguish this group with the name of one of their main campaigns: Stop Evictions. Raquel also voluntarily participates in PAH since she took part of an action to prevent a family from her hometown to be evicted. Desi is one of the victims: it's been six months since she cannot pay the mortgage and there's no way to reach an agreement with the bank to hand in the apartment in exchange of the debt that adds up to almost 250,000 Euros.

Yo no encuentro trabajo y mi marido, tras estar en el paro, cobra ahora 1.200 euros al mes, y tenemos que pagar casi mil de la hipoteca. Tenemos dos hijas y tenemos que tirar adelante. Gracias a la PAH vamos haciendo, la unión hace la fuerza.

I can't find a job nor my husband, who after being on strike now receives 1,200 Euros monthly and we have to pay almost a thousand for the mortgage. We have two daughters and we need to keep at it. Thanks to PAH we are succeeding, together we strive.

Just in front of us a women is performing an act of protest. She has photocopied one of the movement's flyers (”If you pay your debt, let them pay your mortgage”) and has placed herself in front of a wall that protects a building under construction that says “The drums of rebellion are sounding.” Maria, that's her name, is 56 years-old and has been there for a couple of hours standing without moving, silent and with her face covered with the paper. The protesters pass by and stare at her, clap, and leave her alone. Photographers and tourists stop, take pictures and walk away. She holds on. She works at a nearby office and joined the protest after work. “I've photocopied the flyer and I now I'm with them, we are all part of the same package”, explains.

Voy a casi todas las protestas, no por mí, sino por mis hijos. Hemos luchado mucho por lo que tenemos y ahora se lo están cargando. Ya no reconozco a esta España.

I attend almost all the protests, not for me, but for my children. We have fought for what we have and now they are taking it away. I don't recognize this Spain.

Picture by Lali Sandiumenge.

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

Spain: Arts Also Blossom in the Global Spring

Marianna Breytman — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:10:22 +0000

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

From May 12 (12M) to May 15 (15M) [es], Spain has experienced a social movement in the streets to protest the control of the banks and demand a system that is more democratic, participatory, and fair. With the expansion of demonstrations and general discontent, the 15M movement achieved its goal of growing and remaining in the street.

Citizen collectives continue to act through popular assemblies, commissions, and work groups that allow for debate on topics that affect the people and carry out acts of cooperation. Many countries have been inspired by the “indignant” Spaniards, and protests continued to demonstrate their global character on October 15 of last year, with demonstrations in over 900 cities and 82 countries. On May 12, 2012, demonstrations were organized once again throughout all of Spain and on a global level.

The arts have also blossomed with the 15M. Blog Voces con Futura [es] (Voices with a Future) publishes a large portion of the anonymous posters that have filled the plazas during the protests. The author of the blog is a Spanish designer residing abroad that wants to maintain her anonymity and dedicates her attention to the creative talent that has risen as a result of the indignant movement.

To commemorate the 15M's first anniversary, the 12M–15M events, and to invite everyone to take to the streets again, the blog # Acampadasol [es] has published a series of amazing posters that reveal many of the reasons for the protests. Here we share some of the beautiful and creative posters:

"Another world is possible"

"We remain in the squares"

"If you steal, do not govern"

"We don't want reforms…We want a different system"

All images were published under the CC BY 3.0 License.

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

Spain: “Neighbor, Wake Up, Evictions at Your Doorstep!”

Elizabeth — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:07:01 +0000

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

In these times of severe crisis and government cuts, banks are being watched by citizens. This week's announcement of a bailout of 10 billion Euros for the Spanish bank Bankia has provoked many reactions on the web. The blog Platform for the nationalization of saving houses [es] has taken on the news:

La nueva inyección, que puede alcanzar los 10.000 millones de euros —mientras se recortan miles de millones en la Sanidad y la Educación públicas— en bonos contingentes convertibles en el Banco Financiero y de Ahorros volverá a ser insuficiente. (…)La propuesta de una banca pública bajo control democrático y gestionada con transparencia, creada mediante la nacionalización de las cajas de ahorro, no es una de las opciones posibles para resolver la actual crisis. Es la única solución porque es imposible la movilización de fondos privados en la cuantía necesaria para recapitalizar las entidades financieras españolas.

The new cash injection can reach 10 billion Euros in bonds convertible at the Financial and Savings Bank - while thousands are cut from Health and Public Education - will be insufficient (…) The proposal of a public bank under democratic control and managed with transparency, created by the nationalization of the saving houses, is not one of the possible options to solve the current crisis. It is the only solution because it is impossible to move private funds of that quantity to recapitalize Spanish financial entities.

Also, banks are responsible of a great number of foreclosures and evictions throughout Spain which reached a record in 2011. In the downtown neighborhood of Lavapiés, in Madrid, another eviction took place recently after Banesto bank and the judicial commission denied the owners the alternative of negotiating the payment or social leasing of the property. Two families from Bangladesh who bought the apartment in Fray Ceferino Street nº12 were affected after the interest rate of their loan increased and their economic and working situation worsened.

That is how the blog CIERRABANESTO [es] explains the situation in the post titled “Manual to kick out a bank out of a neighborhood”:

Como sabéis, Banesto pretende dejar a Uddin, Hafiz, sus señoras esposas y sus cuatro niñxs en la calle el próximo 9 de mayo. Sí, será la segunda confrontación entre la dignidad y la barbarie, después de que el pasado 28 de marzo Lavapiés ganase el primer encuentro. Nuestrxs vecinxs como tantxs otrxs aquí, en Españistán, escucharon el canto de las sirenas bancarias que gobiernan y se creyeron que debían y podrían tener una casa propia. Ahora están a punto de ser expulsados de esa casa con una deuda pendiente casi tan grande como el crédito original.

As you know, Banesto wants to leave Uddin, Hafiz and their wives and four kids on the streets on May 9th. Yes, it will be the second confrontation between dignity and barbarism after Lavapiés won its first round on March 28th. Our neighbors, as many other around here in Spain, heard the governing banks siren song and believed that they should and could own a house. Now, they are about to get expelled from that house with a pending debt almost as big as the original credit.

An evicted person from Lavapiés takes out the last furniture from his apartment. Photo by Elena Arrontes.

Last March 28, thanks to the support of approximately 80 people, the eviction was postponed to May 9, but an excessive police deployment has blocked the access to the street so the protest couldn't prevent Banesto from taking over the apartment. Even though the police and anti-riot forces (including a helicopter flying around the area) blocked the street, there were manifestations of solidarity from several support groups against the eviction.

From both sides of the street people were chanting: “What a coincidence, poverty raises as well as police expenses!”, “I would be ashamed of throwing out a family!”, “Neighbor, wake up, foreclosures at your doorstep!”, “Today it's you, tomorrow it'll be me”…

Arrival of the eviction victim with his lawyer. Photo by Elena Arrontes.

A group composed by about 20 people went to Uddin and Hafiz's apartment the night before just in case the bank and realtor decided to do the eviction in advance to the scheduled hour (8am). The solidary group had to abandon the building at 9:30 when Uddin and Hafiz, together with a lawyer from the Victims of Mortgage Platform (PAH) met with a the judicial commission to sign the eviction.

Citizens on strike, students, committed neighbors and neighbor assemblies act several times a week in cases like this and make calls to protest using social media. The PAH has made a call on its website to stop evictions in Madrid and Barcelona. Unfortunately, Uddín and Hafiz were not lucky enough and the eviction became effective, but other cases have been successful due to citizen pressure.

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

Spain: Many Reasons to Take to the Streets on 12M

Kathryn Morgan — Sat, 12 May 2012 01:47:37 +0000

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

In Spain on 15 May, the first anniversary of 15M will be commemorated. There are a huge number of events scheduled all over the country for the next several days. Some have already begun, like in Barcelona with the Fòrum dels Pobles (The People's Forum) [cat] which opened in Plaça Catalunya at 18:00 hrs with the aim of generating a space for debate, collaboration and sharing among different collectives who are working for change.

On Saturday 12 May (12M), protests are predicted to take place in many cities across Spain. The platform Democracia Real Ya (Real Democaracy Now) [es] and the portal Tomalaplaza (Take The Square) [es] bring together some of the initiatives from not only the local, but also the global sphere, such as videos and images:

There are many different, yet overlapping reasons to head to the streets on May 12. Spanish tweeters have been exposing these reasons for two days over the internet. The hashtags #YoVoy12M (I'm Going 12M), launched on Thursday, and #ALaPlaza (To The Square), launched on Friday, have been Trending Topics (TT) in Spain itself, but also on a globally. @mantaypeli is putting together a Storify [es] of the tweets.

Here we have a few more:

@Nofwer: #YoVoy12M: Por la busqueda de una Democracia Total! Y no este simulacro.

@Nofwer: #YoVoy12M: In search of Total Democracy. And not this sham.

@Aldana72: #M12 #12m15m: Por nuestro futuro. Por nuestra dignidad. Tenemos que ir #yovoy12m

@Aldana72: #M12 #12m15m: For our future. For our dignity. We need to go.

@qmbx: #YoVoy12M: porque será la mejor carrera que podamos hacer juntos. #15M es sentirse indignado. #12M es sentirse vendido. #12M15M es respuesta.

@qmbx: #YoVoy12M: because it will be the best path we can take together.

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: porque no somos terroristas al decir que hay algo más en esta vida que ir cada 4 años a las urnas o ir a las urnas

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: because we are not terrorists for saying that there is something more to life than going to vote every 4 years or going to vote

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: porque creo que la organización y el debate de la vox populi es la única forma de sacarnos de esta y de cualquier situación

@pabloskybarbato: #YoVoy12M: because I believe that organisation and the debate of the vox populi is the only way for us to get out of this, and any other, situation.

@carlos605486545: #YoVoy12M: todavía no he visto a un político en crisis

@carlos605486545: #YoVoy12M: I still haven't seen a politician in crisis.

@juulia022: Perquè estic farta que es prometin coses que mai arriben a complir-se! #YoVoy12M #12m15m

@juulia022: Because I am sick of them promising us things that they never get around to doing.

@Jc36Lj: #YoVoy12M: por educacion por que es sano y me gusta lo publico

@Jc36Lj: #YoVoy12M: for education because it is healthy and I like it.

@julkfusion: #YoVoy12M: con esperanza, ganas de crear… Aun hay quien pregunta “por qué”?

@julkfusion: #YoVoy12M: with hope, a desire to believe… there is still someone who asks “why?”

@andergayamor: #yovoy12m: Porque llevamos en nuestro corazón un mundo nuevo que está naciendo.

@andergayamor: #yovoy12m: Because we carry in our hearts a new world that is being born.

@LauraIpunto1 Sin educación, sin sanidad, sin vivienda, sin rescate ciudadano…Españoles la democracia a muerto!!! #AlaPlaza12M

@LauraIpunto1: No education, no health service, no housing, no citizen bailout. Spaniards, democracy has died!!! #AlaPlaza12M

@iaioflautas: #Alaplaza12M: A disfrutar del solecico y el 13-14 unas partidas de dominó por la plaza entre debate y debate

@iaioflautas: #Alaplaza12M: To enjoy the sunshine and the 13-14 or so games of dominoes between debates.

@apardo: #aLaPlAzA12m: porque esto no es una crisis, es una estafa

@apardo: #aLaPlAzA12m: because this isn't a crisis, it's a fraud.

@gorriato: El año pasado con el #15M les dimos un ultimátum a nuestros políticos. Lejos de mejorar, las cosas han empeorado #AlaPlaza12M #12M15M

@gorriato: Last year with #15M we gave our politicians and ultimatum. Far from improving, things have worsened. #AlaPlaza12M #12M15M

@A_Cas: Si el gobierno no cuida de los ciudadanos, los ciudadanos cuidamos de los ciudadanos #AlaPlaza12M

@A_Cas: If the government doesn't look after its citizens, citizens will look after themselves. #AlaPlaza12M

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

Spain: #NoMoreEuros for Bankia

Greg Ahlswede — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:38:18 +0000

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

The Internet in Spain was seething since it was reported [es] this Monday that the government is preparing a plan to inject public money into Bankia, the fourth largest bank in the country and the most exposed to the real estate market. Since the crisis started in 2008, the government has supported Bankia with 33 billion euros [es]. The current bail-out plan could be as much as 10 billion.

The news circulated the same day that the the resignation [es] of the head of the financial institution, Rodrigo Rato, was announced. Rato also served as an economy minister in Aznar's government and as president of the IMF (International Monetary Fund). Rato had been two years in management, first in Caja Madrid and then in Bankia, which was formed in 2010 from a merger of seven saving banks.

For his work, he received 2.34 million euros last year and, and for resigning, he is entitled to an indemnity of 1.2 million. His proposed successor is José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, who left the BBVA group (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) in 2009 in exchange for an annual life pension [es] of over 3 million euros.

“Bankia, the rats are jumping ship,” the blog Salmón wrote in an article that has circulated throughout the web [es]:

Rato no se marcha sin más. El botín en versión indemnización al que tiene derecho alcanza la escalofriante cifra de 1,2 millones de euros. Y perdonad mi inocencia pero esta es una de las cosas que no alcanzaré a entender jamás: llegas a una caja quebrada, haces una gestión pésima que la aboca a una situación aún peor, cuando todo se vuelve negro te marchas, le cuestas a los españoles prácticamente lo mismo que los recortes en Sanidad y Educación, y encima te llevas una indemnización millonaria en el bolsillo.

Rato is not walking away just like that. The plunder in form of indemnity to which he is entitled reaches the staggering figure of 1.2 million euros. And forgive my naivety but this is something that I will never understand: you arrive at a broke bank; you manage it dreadfully, which only makes the situation worse; you leave when everything looks grim; you cost the Spanish people practically the same as the cuts in Health and Education; and to top it all off you walk away with a millionaire's indemnity in your pocket.

The community's reactions were immediate and have come one after the other throughout the week. #NiUnEuroMas (#NoMoreEuros) and #Bankia are two of the hashtags that Spaniards are using to express their opinions. The reasons for their anger are many.

Bankia, according to what the website Madrilonia.org recalls in an entry titled “Cuando las ratas huyen de Bankia es hora de tomar Bankia” [es] (When the rats are fleeing Bankia it is time to take Bankia), is the bank with the highest amount of mortgages in the Community of Madrid and one of the most involved in evictions of families that can no longer pay them:

Caja Madrid y ahora Bankia han ido creciendo con nuestro dinero: nuestros ahorros, nuestras hipotecas, nuestras pocas acciones y ahora, directamente, con nuestras casas robadas en desahucios -Bankia es uno de los bancos con más desalojos- y con dinero público. Ya se han lanzado propuestas de nacionalización -ya que pagamos todo, pues, oiga, que los dividendos no se lo lleven otros.

Caja Madrid and now Bankia have been growing with our money [es]: our savings, our mortgages, our few shares and now, directly, with our houses stolen in evictions -Bankia is one of the banks with the most evictions [es]- and with public money. Proposals have already been made for nationalization [es] -Since we pay for everything, well, hey, let's keep others from taking the dividends.

Many of the tweets denounce the fact that the sum of the anticipated bail-out is more than what is going towards Education and Health in the public budget and is equal to the cuts carried out in both sectors.

These are some of the tweets that have shown up on the web since last Monday. As always, the criticisms are seasoned in many cases with humor:

LoveWillTearUsAznar ‏@lwtuaznar: ¿Y vender chandals para ayudar al rescate de Bankia? ¿Cómo lo veis? Son muy guapos http://pic.twitter.com/4b00MpRf

LoveWillTearUsAznar ‏@lwtuaznar: Selling track suits to help pay for the Bankia bail-out? What do you think? They look really nice http://pic.twitter.com/4b00MpRf

Dark Vader ‏ @pistatxin78: #Bankia, ¿Por qué pides sólo 10.000 millones? Pide 14.000 y ya lo amueblas…. http://pic.twitter.com/M5TinsNI

Dark Vader ‏ @pistatxin78: #Bankia, Why are you only asking for 10 billion? Ask for 14 and you can get new furniture…. http://pic.twitter.com/M5TinsNI

"Why are you only asking for 10 billion? Ask for 14 and you can get new furniture."

Raul Gonzalez ‏ @Raulexio : #Bankia ¡¡¡¡¡ Manos arriba, esto es un atraco!!!!!

Raul Gonzalez ‏ @Raulexio : #Bankia Hands up, this is a hold-up!!!!!

Jose Sanclemente ‏ @josesanclemente: ¿cuanto IVA hemos de pagar, cuantas recetas y camas de hospitales, cuantas aulas se han de cerrar…para darle 10.000 millones a Bankia?

Jose Sanclemente ‏ @josesanclemente: How much VAT do we have to pay, how many prescriptions and hospital beds, how many classrooms have to be closed… to give 10 billion to Bankia?

Pilar Marroyo ‏ @pilar_marroyo: El gobierno rescata a Bankia y sus directivos millonarios, ¿qué dirán los que han visto hundirse sus negocios sin nadie que los ayudara?

Pilar Marroyo ‏ @pilar_marroyo: The government is rescuing Bankia and its millionaire executives, and the people whose businesses went under without anyone to help them, what would they say?

Joan Baldoví i Roda ‏ @joanbaldovi: Presupuesto educación + sanidad en 2012: 5.397 millones de euros. Rescatar Bankia: 7.000 millones de euros #hagamoscomoislandia

Joan Baldoví i Roda ‏ @joanbaldovi: Health+education budget in 2012: 5.397 billion euros. Bailing out Bankia: 7 billion euros #hagamoscomoislandia (#DoAsIcelandDid)

Toret @Toret: #HagamoscomoIslandia. Ni un euro más para los bancos, juicio a los culpables de la crisis y una constitución escrita por los ciudadanos!

Toret @Toret: #HagamoscomoIslandia. (#DoAsIcelandDid) Not one more euro for the banks, let's take the ones responsible for the crisis to court and make a constitution written by the people!

Ángel ‏ @A_Cas: Si Bankia vale en bolsa unos 3.000 millones y se le inyectan 8.000 ¿no es de facto pública?

Ángel ‏ @A_Cas: If Bankia is worth about 3 billion and they inject 8. Isn't it really public then?

Jéssica Remón ‏ @jess_rr: Recortes en educación y sanidad: 10.000 millones de €; rescate a Bankia: 11465 millones de euros, pero ¿ésto que es?? #NiunEuroMas

Jéssica Remón ‏ @jess_rr: Budget cuts in education and health: 10 billion €'s; bailing out Bankia: 11.465 billion euros, Wait… What is going here?? #NiunEuroMas (#NoMoreEuros)

Mrs. ∞ ßϒξn ‏ @bren_oo7: #NiUnEuroMas Habrá que volver a guardar los millones bajo el colchón de la cama…están mas seguros que bajo 3 cajas fuertes en un banco.

Mrs. ∞ ßϒξn ‏ @bren_oo7: #NiUnEuroMas (#NoMoreEuros) We'll have to go back to hiding the billions under our mattresses… they're safer there than in 3 safes in a bank.

Renta Básica ‏ @Renta_Basica: Si se repartiera el rescate de Bankia entre TODOS los desahuciados tocaría a + de 20.000€ por familia #ConElDineroDeBankia #NiUnEuroMas

Renta Básica ‏ @Renta_Basica: If the money meant for bailing out Bankia were distributed among ALL the evicted people it would be more than 20,000€ per family #ConElDineroDeBankia #NiUnEuroMas (#WithBankiasMoney) (#NoMoreEuros)

Peich ‏ @_Peich: La inyección que necesita #Bankia es la letal.

Peich ‏ @_Peich: The only injection that #Bankia needs is a lethal one.

Miquel Roig ‏ @miquelroig: Ejem… Según #BFA, #Bankia vale 24.000 millones. Según #Deloitte, vale 17.000 millones. Según el mercado: 4.300 millones

Miquel Roig ‏ @miquelroig: Ahem… According to#BFA, #Bankia is worth 24 billion. According to #Deloitte, it's worth 17 billion. According to the market: 4.3 billion

The journalist Ignacio Escolar outlined the numbers in a post in his blog, Bankia's deficit in five easy-to-understand figures [es]:

4.600 millones de euros. Es lo que vale Bankia, según su capitalización bursátil de ayer. Es decir: los mercados valoran a esta entidad financiera en un tercio de lo que el Estado tendrá que poner para reflotarla a ella y a su matriz, el BFA, que es una especie de banco malo donde el genio financiero de Rodrigo Rato –aconsejado por MAFO– dejó toda la basura del ladrillo para ver si así podía aguantar. En ese almacén nuclear se guardan 30.000 millones en activos tóxicos, un 3% del PIB nacional o todo el recorte del gasto público de este año. Dentro de esa cifra hay también 5.000 millones en suelo, un patrimonio que se ha devaluado aún más. Es obvio que el dinero público prestado difícilmente va a regresar.

4.6 billion euros. It's what Bankia is worth according to its stock market capitalization yesterday. That is to say: the markets value this financial institution at a third of what the government would have to put in to keep it and its parent company, the BFA, afloat. The BFA is a type of bad bank where the financial genius Rodrigo Rato, advised by Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, left all the construction trash to see if people could put up with it. 30 billion toxic assets, 3% of the nation GDP is kept in that nuclear warehouse or all this year's cuts from public spending. Also within that number figure about 5 billion in land, a patrimony that has depreciated even more. It is obvious that the borrowed public money will be difficult to return.

The conservative Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia has started an online survey [es] in which it asks its readers if they approve of injecting public money to compensate Bankia. After 3,243 people responded, 94% said no.

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

Spain: Historic Battle of Almansa Remembered in Valencia

udell.db — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:47:20 +0000

On April 25, 2012 it was hard to miss the soccer world's surprising news: FC Barcelona had been eliminated from the Champions League. Online and in the streets, everyone was talking about it — that is, except certain Valencian netizens, who used the internet to take part in an annual remembrance of April 25, 1707: the day that Valencia lost its political autonomy to the Kingdom of Spain.

Every year, this commemoration has been purely civic; the day has never been institutionally recognized [ca] as one of historic importance. This year, the Valencian parliament (Les Corts Valencianes), controlled by the right-wing People's Party, preferred to pay homage to the Valencians who participated in the Cádiz Cortes during the French occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars and the drafting of the Spanish Constitution of 1812.

Popular portrait of Philip V of Spain hung upside down in remembrance of his orders to burn the Valencian town of Xàtiva

Those who wished to celebrate April 25 in a different way took to the streets that Saturday, as part of a contemporary tradition, a series of protests and concerts organized by Acció Cultural del País Valencià [ca] (Cultural Action for Valencia or ACPV). Others took to the internet and honored the day through social networking.

Every spring, Valencians remember the fateful moment in their history, when Archduke Charles of Austria suffered military defeat at the hands of Philip d'Anjou's army at the Battle of Almansa, against the backdrop of the Spanish War of Succession: a continental battle for control of Spain, in which Franco-Spanish soldiers fought against the allied armies of England, Portugal, The Netherlands and Germany.

Given the international ramifications of the conflict, it's understandable that traditional narratives tend to overlook the serious consequences the War of Succession had for Spain's Catalan-speaking regions–Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia–where the event is remembered as the main reason for the loss of political independence (for a comparison of historical perspectives, see the differences between Battle of Almansa articles on Vikipèdia [ca] and Wikipedia).

Certain blogs, like Hic Sunt Leones [ca], explain the history:

La victòria de les tropes del Duc de Berwik, favorables a Felip d'Anjou, sobre l'exercit dels partidaris de l'Arxiduc Carles d'Àustria va marcar l'inici de l'ocupació borbònica del Regne de València i de la de la resta dels Països Catalans. Anys després, amb l'aplicació dels Decrets de Nova Planta i “por justo derecho de conquista”, els regnes de la Corona d'Aragó van veure suprimit el seu autogovern i les seues lleis i institucions van ser substituïdes per les de la Corona de Castella.

The Duke of Berwik's military victory over Archduke Charles of Austria in the name of Philip d'Anjou marked the beginning of Bourbonic occupation in Valencia and the rest the of Catalan-speaking world. Shortly thereafter, thanks to the Nueva Planta Decrees and “by right of conquest,” the various kingdoms under the Crown of Aragon lost their laws and traditions to those of Castile.

The defeat at Almansa was the first in a series of fatal blows to Spain's Catalan-speaking regions: September 11th (Catalonia's National Holiday) of 1714 saw the fall of Barcelona and July 11th, 1715, of Majorca and the rest of the Balearic Islands. After his victory, Philip d'Anjou became Philip V of Spain, the first in a long line of Bourbon kings. Following France's tradition of monarchical absolutism [ca], Philip V implemented a series of sweeping administrative reforms to centralize his kingdom and foment a cohesive Spanish state.

He promulgated the Nueva Planta Decrees, which abolished the unique legal and cultural institutions of states pertaining to the old Crown of Aragon. This included Valencia's four-hundred year-old political and legislative system, the Furs of Valencia, as well as all bodies of sociopolitical representation, such as the Corts or Generalitat. A popular Valencian saying commemorates these events: “Quan el mal ve d'Almansa, a tots alcança,” or, “When evil comes from Almansa, it reaches everyone.”

On Twitter, the hashtags #25dAbril and #25Abril bridged the sentiments of Tweeters with very different profiles:

@ferran_campos: La història ens fa entendre el present i per això cal rememorar-la. Contra l'oblit, memòria i record. #25dabril #1707 #PaísValencià

@ferran_campos: History helps us understand the present. We should never forget. #25dabril #1707 #PaísValencià

@fraferfa: Bon dia! Fa 305 anys valencians i valencianes perdérem els nostres furs i amb ells la nostra sobirania. Recuperem-los! #25Abril

@fraferfa: Good day! 305 years ago, my fellow Valencians, we lost our furs and with them our sovereignty. Let's get them back! #25Abril

@ForcaJoves: #25dabril Sentim-nos orgullosos de les nostres arrels, la nostra cultura i la nostra història com a poble. País Valencià. #ForçadelsJoves

@ForcaJoves: #25dabril We're proud of our roots, our culture and our history as a people. Valencian nation. #ForçadelsJoves

@mirodavid: Avui #25abril cal recordar que els valencians estem a punt de perdre la Generalitat per segona vegada.

@mirodavid: Today, #25abril we Valencians must remember that we're in danger of loosing our autonomy. Again.

@melderomerAV: “He juzgado conveniente abolir y derogar todos los fueros, privilegios, práctica y costumbre en los reinos de Aragón y Valencia” #25abril

@melderomerAV: “I have found it convenient to erase all the laws, practices and customs of the Kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia” #25abril

@VicentFlor: Sabeu què us dic? Que no podran amb nosaltres! Ni Felip Vé, ni Joan Carles I ni els qui vindran! #25Abril

@VicentFlor: You know what I think? They will never keep us down! Not Felip V, not Juan Carlos, nor anyone who may come! #25Abril

@Feliuventura: #25Abril 305 anys aguantant caçadors d'elefants.

@Feliuventura: #25Abril 305 years of putting up with elephant hunters.

@trencalos: Tota política que no fem nosaltres serà feta contra nosaltres. #insubmissió #jonovullpagar #Fuster #25dabril

@trencalos: All politics not done by us will be done against us. #insubmissió #jonovullpagar #Fuster #25dabril

Neither on Facebook nor Twitter did anyone forget the popular portrait of Philip V hung upside down (which is still on display at the Almodí Museum [ca] in Xàtiva, in remembrance of Philip's orders to burn the city), nor did they forget the references to songs that pay homage to this event, both new and old, like Cant dels Maulets, by Al Tall or Viure, by Obrint Pas.

@vicarlos: #25Abril Felip V tal i com està penjat en un museu de Xàtiva http://instagr.am/p/J0eirFJDpR

@vicarlos: #25Abril Philip V is still hanging in the museum at Xàtiva http://instagr.am/p/J0eirFJDpR

@jvdasi: 25 d'abril “… , els peixos en l'aigua i els amos al clot. I si no l'empara el Nostre Senyor, tallarem la cua a Felip de Borbó” #25abril

@jvdasi: 25 d'abril “… fish are still swimming and birds are in the sky. If God doesn't protect us, we'll cut ties with Philip the Bourbon” #25abril

@Ingridlafita: “Les velles cançons, les noves emocions, el #25abril construïm les il·lusions!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF_GzJIhSrY

@Ingridlafita: “Old songs and new emotions, let's get inspired this #25abril!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF_GzJIhSrY

Every year, the official time for commemorating the Battle of Almansa is 6:00 PM on April 28th at the Plaça Sant Agustí. Bloggers and tweeters spread the word with the hashtag #25dAbrilDiallibertats.

Spain: Barcelona Sieged During European Central Bank Meeting

Claudia Parra — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:57:26 +0000

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

On May 2, 3, and 4 the European Central Bank meeting took place in Barcelona, Spain, a city that became sieged by the police: 8,000 police were drafted into the Catalan capital, a total of 2,300 national police officers and 1,200 civil guards, plus 4,500 troopers (Mossos d’Esquadra).

For this meeting, Spain temporarily (from April 28 until May 4) suspended the Treaty of Schengen [es] on the border with France. The Schengen agreement eliminates internal border controls between some European countries and creates only one external border where entering controls to the Schengen Area. The Schengen Area comprises only some of the member states of the European Community.

Barcelona, police city. http://t.co/QlZ3g0bJ

‏

@premsaindignada: Jueces para la Democracia “suspender Schengen es de Estado democrático miope” http://bit.ly/BienvenidoMrBCEweb #bienvenidoMrBCE http://bit.ly/J2ccqP

@premsaindignada [ca]: Judges pro democracy: “to suspend Schengen is typical of an unthinking democratic state.” http://bit.ly/BienvenidoMrBCEweb [ca] #bienvenidoMrBCE [ca] http://bit.ly/J2ccqP [es].

Also through Twitter, the police itself warned the citizens in an extremely patronizing way:

@policia: Recordad: Hasta el viernes, 4, suspendido Tratado Schengen y restablecidos los controles fronterizos en España y se refuerzan en #Catalunya

@policia [es]: Remember: Schengen treaty suspended until May 4, border controls in Spain back to normal and reinforced in #Catalunya [es].

The suspension of the treaty is due to political reasons, in case any violent incidents were to happen between the so-called anti system groups and the groups in charge of the security during the meeting. This was a greater deployment than the one during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, from snipers positioned in the Arts Hotel, where the economic ministers stayed, to random searches, stopping people on the street for no reason and searching their bags.

Such deployment resulted in 10 people arrested on the border, 18 people denied entrance to Spain, and more than 126 000 people searched (ID verification and even car search) while trying to cross the border [es]. People who had pending charges with the police were also arrested.

Riot police, Barcelona http://pic.twitter.com/o5kLKIhe

During the meeting, Barcelona did not witness the expected violence because the city turned its back on those attending the meeting; however, to a greater or lesser extent, there was some protesting:

@Acampadabcn; Recordar mostrar vuestro rechazo al BCE a las 21:00h en forma de cacerolada… Que nos oigan! http://bit.ly/cassoladaBCE #CassoladaBCE

@Acampadabcn [es/ca]: Don’t forget to show your rejection to the ECB at 9:00 p.m. in the form of cacerolada…let’s be heard! http://bit.ly/cassoladaBCE [es] #CassoladaBCE [ca]

On May 3, there was a student demonstration against budget cuts in public higher education and against the raise in tuition fees. Even though this demonstration was peaceful, the political leaders in charge behaved like bullies when they ordered the riot police to surround the last protesters and direct them in a provocative way, as can be seen in this photo and video.

Student demonstrators completely surrounded by riot police. http://imgur.com/tQ2cc

A comment from the video youtube account reads:

Yo estuve allí y te lo puedo explicar. Al final de una manifestación pacífica sin altercados, un grupo reducido de esa misma manifestación decidimos seguirla hasta una universidad de la zona donde había comida y actos por el tema de la subida de las tasas universitarias. A la altura de plaza Cataluña la policía que nos iba persiguiendo en furgonetas nos rodean sin ningun motivo, nos encierran con coacción y nos empiezan a grabar e intimidar.

I was there, and I can tell you. At the end of a peaceful demonstration with no violent incidents, a small group decided to keep going until we reached a nearby university, where there was food and some activity against the increase in tuition fees. When we reached Cataluña square, the police, who was following us in vans, surrounded us for no reason; they used coercion to close in on us, and they started recording and intimidating us.

This is how the right to protest is respected in Spain:

The European Central Bank (ECB) and its head, Mario Draghi, who was CEO of the World Bank and the European vice-president of Goldman Sachs, asked Spain to continue with the current reforms and to persevere in helping the banks.

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

Spain: Madrid Preparing for “Indignado” Anniversary

Elizabeth — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:24:35 +0000

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

A year ago, people in Spain awakened to how the devastating crisis they are facing was being managed. The peaceful protest - with no attachment to any political party - against the financial and political powers grew into a solid movement called “indignados” that went out to the streets nationwide to protest and organized a sit-in at the emblematic and centric Plaza del Sol in Madrid.

: The roads that lead to Plaza del Sol in Madrid. Taken from Madrilonia.org under CC BY-SA-3.0 license.

Now, after the government shift, the situation keeps worsening and more motives are coming up to keep on protesting. The austerity reforms that affect most Spaniards have strengthened the general discontent. The will for political and social changes towards a bigger democracy is growing. So, as it happened on last October 15, 2011, a global protest is expected to mark the first anniversary of the 15M (May 15).

The anniversary of 15M will be celebrated throughout Spain and promises a May full of citizen initiatives led mainly by neighbors and town assemblies and citizen groups. In an interview with Global Voices, Mari Angela, one of the coordinators and a member of the Las Letras neighbors assembly and of the international political group of Madrid, commented on the preparations for this year.

Since February, they have been gathering and agreeing upon an agenda, this month's program and its organization. The common objective is to achieve the political permanence on the streets of Madrid claiming the right to assembly and free speech.

The organization of such events started on February and is coordinated by an open and wide group composed by several teams, assemblies and commissions. For this occasion, four teams were put together to take the responsibility for communication and awareness, the protests of 12M (May 12), the sit-in at Plaza del Sol (in downtown Madrid) from May 12 to May 15, and the post-15M activities. The meetings take place each week at the Casablanca Social Center [es]. The Wednesday meetings are to align the issues managed by all four groups.

: Poster for 12M. Taken from Madrilonia.org under a CC Licence BY-SA-3.0.

The calendar has various milestone dates. On May 1 a popular meal was organized followed by an economy assembly at the Malasaña neighborhood in Madrid. Various proposals were presented, some initiatives and issues were discussed; among them the rejection of the project to create a European “Las Vegas” in Spain (EuroVegas) and the need to ensure a dignified job.

On May 9, Economy students have the intention to do a sit-in in front of the Health Ministry until May 12 when they will join the rest of the protest. Also, a meeting is planned next to Madrid's Assembly on May 10 to support a popular law proposal that would make water a public good.

12M is the big Protest Day. Replicating last October 15, several protests coming from the 4 cardinal points od the city will converge at Sol. Also several people assemblies, essential in the preparation of the “indignado” anniversary, will meet during the day to arrive at downtown at 21h. At midnight, the people gathered at Sol will raise a white handkerchief as a symbol against violence, wars and economic warfare.

The great novelty this year is the organization of a Social Forum in Madrid on May 19 and 20 that includes lectures, street talks, and a joint assembly together with Sol's. On May 26 the Malasaña Assembly proposes to work on the political celebration of the birth of people assemblies in Madrid.

Sol and its surroundings will host various movements that want to communicate their proposals and initiatives throughout theme plazas: the Green Wave [es] for education will stay at Sol, the blue plaza for the defense of public water will occupy Tirso de Molina Plaza, the white one that claims public quality health will sit-in in Santa Ana. Other issues like economy, housing, unemployment, feminism, environment and culture will also have their space in the capital's downtown.

The great final assembly will take place on May 15 at 7pm at Plaza del Sol. There, every citizen can approach the Information Point stand from May 1 to May 15 to participate in the assemblies.

In the informational blog Madrilonia.org [es]:

El 12M-15M es mucho más que una jornada de protesta, es la posibilidad de redescubrir una confianza construida en horizontal, de tú a tú. Una confianza que sirva para poner en marcha formas colectivas de protección y sostenibilidad. Todo el mundo es necesario para pensar, proponer, imaginar, crear.

The 12M-15M is more than a protest rally, it is the possibility to rediscover the trust built horizontally, face to face. A trust that can help start colective forms of protection and sustainability. Everybody is necessary to think, propose, imagine and create.

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

Spain: St. George's Day, Catalan Culture and Protest

udell.db — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:56:09 +0000

Saint George's Day (Diada de Sant Jordi in Catalan) is a unique celebration in Catalonia. Tradition holds that the festival revolves around roses and books. April 23rd has always been a day of protest in the name of Catalan language and culture. This year will see more protest than ever because people will also be organizing against government cutbacks that affect education and Catalan culture.

Spain: Call for worldwide entries for the Barcelona International Audiovisual Festival

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:25:01 +0000

In topics centered around children and youth, the Barcelona International Audiovisual Festival is calling for entries with a 31 May, 2012 registration deadline for audiovisuals that not only entertain but also educate and teach. More information on Young People's Media Network.

Spain: The King and the Elephants

Marianna Breytman — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:34:12 +0000

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

On April 14, 2012, Spain's King Juan Carlos underwent an operation due to a hip fracture following a fall that he suffered when he was in Botswana, Africa, hunting elephants [es]. The Royal Family reported the incident when the king had already successfully gone through the operation and was resting in the Intensive Care Unit of USP San José Hospital.

The news — which spread immediately on the Internet — seems to be taken out of old stories, in which royalty were happy and went to hunt elephants while, in their kingdom, their subjects were content and dedicated to their common citizen tasks. It turns out, however, that in the 21st century, circumstances are different. The king still exists and he hunts elephants in Botswana, but instead, his citizens suffer social cuts unprecedented in democratic history due to the financial crisis, and there are more than 5 million people unemployed, with a rate of youth unemployment that exceeds 50%.

The king's trip has cost over 37,000 euro, and the online protests have not ceased to proliferate, such the letter from WWF Spain (a conservationist organization) and demands a meeting with the Royal Family [es]:

Este desafortunado acontecimiento es mundialmente conocido en estos momentos y estamos recibiendo incontables muestras de enérgica protesta, lo cual implica un grave perjuicio para la credibilidad de WWF y de la intensa labor que ha desarrollado durante más de cincuenta años para la protección de los elefantes y de otras especies.

This unfortunate event has been made known worldwide now and we are receiving countless demonstrations of heated protests, which causes serious damage to the credibility of the WWF and the immense work that has been done over the past fifty years to protect elephants and other species.

On the blog “Principia Marsupia”, physicist Alberto Sicilia writes a “Letter from a theoretical physics researcher to King Juan Carlos” [es]:

Regresé a un país donde el Jefe del Estado se opera de prótesis de cadera en una clínica privada, mientras miles de compatriotas esperan meses para la misma intervención. Regresé a un país donde el Jefe del Estado se va de vacaciones en jet privado mientras se fulminan las ayudas a las personas dependientes.

I returned to a country where the Head of State is getting a hip replacement operation in a private clinic, while thousands of fellow citizens are waiting months for the same procedure. I returned to a country where the Head of State goes on vacation on a private jet while dependent individuals are stripped of services.

Many debates have taken place across social networks as well:

@DRYburgos: Millones de parados, centenares de desahucios cada día… y el Rey cazando elefantes en Botswana?? Esto es intolerable!

@DRYburgos: Thousands of unemployed individuals, hundreds evicted every day… and the king is hunting elephants in Botswana?? This is intolerable!

@GLlamazares: De tal palo tal astilla. El monarca se fractura la cadera cazando elefantes y su nieto se dispara en el pie.

@GLlamazares: A chip off the old block. The monarch fractures a hip hunting elephants and his grandson shoots himself in the foot.

@democraciareal: Mientras unos sufrimos duros recortes en Sanidad y Educación, otros derrochan miles de euros de dinero público matando elefantes en África

@democraciareal: While we suffer harsh cuts in health and education, others squander thousands of euros in public funds killing elephants in Africa.

This is a video from Rann Safaris, a company that sponsors trips to hunt elephants in Africa. (Note: video contains graphic content.)

On April 18, the king was been released from the hospital, and he said to the press: “I am hoping to resume my obligations and I truly apologize. I made a mistake and it will not happen again [es].”

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

Spain: Faces of the victims of the economic crisis

Paula Góes — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:23:54 +0000

The Els nous pobres [The New Poor, ca] blog collects testimonies of poor people affected by the crisis which has greatly limited their economic and personal opportunities. According to the authors, the intention is “to give faces, names and surnames to social injustice we have been living in while our public representatives have been sharing shameful wages, favors, subsidies and privileges of all kinds.”