Tahrir comes to Spain

international | anti-capitalism | feature

Saturday May 21, 2011 14:24

by s

#spanishrevolution

Tahrir Comes to Spain

Pissed off with very high unemployment, a political system which is not working, a feeling that banks and the markets matter more than life itself, the youth, unemployed and precarious of Spain launched their revolt last Sunday. Three days on and many squares in the country are occupied and movements are building up under the banner of "Democracy Real, Ya! (Real Democracy, Now!)

"No somos mercancía en manos de políticos y banqueros" (We are not merchandise at the hands of the politicians and the markets)

Inspired by both the recent uprising in North Africa and the peoples revolt in Iceland, for 3 months now, social movements in Spain have been organising to change the system. Last sunday was an international day of action which saw many thousands of people taking to the streets of many cities throughout Spain. Madrid saw the biggest demo. People occupied the main square, placa del sol (the square of sun), but this action was followed by severe police repression as riot cops cleared the square. Tuesday evening saw many many thousand people filling that same square and calls for similar actions throughout Spain...

"Democracy Real, Ya! (Real Democracy, Now!) Manifesto

We are ordinary people. We are like you: people, who get up every morning to study, work or find a job, people who have family and friends. People, who work hard every day to provide a better future for those around us.

Some of us consider ourselves progressive, others conservative. Some of us are believers, some not. Some of us have clearly defined ideologies, others are apolitical, but we are all concerned and angry about the political, economic, and social outlook which we see around us: corruption among politicians, businessmen, bankers, leaving us helpless, without a voice.
This situation has become normal, a daily suffering, without hope. But if we join forces, we can change it. It’s time to change things, time to build a better society together. Therefore, we strongly argue that:

• The priorities of any advanced society must be equality, progress, solidarity, freedom of culture, sustainability and development, welfare and people’s happiness.
• These are inalienable truths that we should abide by in our society: the right to housing, employment, culture, health, education, political participation, free personal development, and consumer rights for a healthy and happy life.
• The current status of our government and economic system does not take care of these rights, and in many ways is an obstacle to human progress.
• Democracy belongs to the people (demos = people, krátos = government) which means that government is made of every one of us. However, in Spain most of the political class does not even listen to us. Politicians should be bringing our voice to the institutions, facilitating the political participation of citizens through direct channels that provide the greatest benefit to the wider society, not to get rich and prosper at our expense, attending only to the dictatorship of major economic powers and holding them in power through a bipartidism headed by the immovable acronym PP (conservatives, built out of old fascist party) & PSOE. (the socialists)
• Lust for power and its accumulation in only a few; create inequality, tension and injustice, which leads to violence, which we reject. The obsolete and unnatural economic model fuels the social machinery in a growing spiral that consumes itself by enriching a few and sends into poverty the rest. Until the collapse.
• The will and purpose of the current system is the accumulation of money, not regarding efficiency and the welfare of society. Wasting resources, destroying the planet, creating unemployment and unhappy consumers.
• Citizens are the gears of a machine designed to enrich a minority which does not regard our needs. We are anonymous, but without us none of this would exist, because we move the world.
• If as a society we learn to not trust our future to an abstract economy, which never returns benefits for the most, we can eliminate the abuse that we are all suffering.
• We need an ethical revolution. Instead of placing money above human beings, we shall put it back to our service. We are people, not products. I am not a product of what I buy, why I buy and who I buy from.

For all of the above, I am outraged.
I think I can change it.
I think I can help.
I know that together we can.I think I can help.

I know that together we can.

HOPEFULLY THIS ACTION WILL SPREAD THROUGHOUT EUROPE...

Manifesto (English) - http://democraciarealya.es/?page_id=814

further report in English, from the barcelona group: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TocEU6SAWEiwXpIQJ1j...li=1#

Democracy Real, Ya! Video manifesto: Porque somos más, toma la calle (Because we are more, take the streets)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SAfFFpGF3E

Democracy Real, Ya! channel on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/democraciarealya

El 15 de mayo: ¡toma la calle! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DXJ0qPXrCA

Desalojo de la acampada de Sol y reportaje sobre ¡Democracia Real ya! en Antena 3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAmyc_TqO1c

. TWTR: @acampadabcn - http://twitter.com/#!/acampadabcn
FB: acampadabcn - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Acampadabcn/227242160626146

todos somos islandia (we are all Iceland)
http://www.todossomosislandia.es/

Un ágora instalado en el kilómetro 0
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/05/18/actualid....html

La Junta Electoral Provincial de Madrid prohíbe la acampada de la Puerta del Sol
http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/sociedad/junta-e...10471

I don’t want a new iPad, I want a new life”

- graffiti during the mobilisation of the 15th of May.
http://hughgreen.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/i-dont-want-a-new-ipad-i-want-a-new-life/

Tahrir comes to Spain #spanishrevolution