At 15:30 18/06/2011, Robert Stennett wrote:
Should Wealth Be Held by the Few or Everyone? --
That's the Central Focus of Protests from Spain to Greece
If wealth is held by everyone then it's no longer
wealth but normalcy. Wealth will always be held
by the few, as it always has been throughout
history. The really important issue should be:
"How to we equalise opportunity (as far as is
possible)?" How do we give children better
environments and better schools so that everybody
finds his own place? In England we've just had 12
years of a Labour (socialist) government in which
the welfare state, and public service jobs, grew
faster than they have ever before, and possibly
faster than it ever has done in any country in
the world. The result? As well as an unpayable
governmental debt, proportionately more poor at
the end of 12 years than at the beginning.
Keith
What started in Spain is now clearly spreading
across Europe, where we have witnessed social
movements making similar demands for economic democracy.
June 16, 2011 |
While Europes slow-motion financial
collapse as Mother Jones magazine described
it in a June 6 article continues apace,
Spain, like other European states continues to
implement anti-social/neo-liberal policies in
the face of strong opposition from the citizenry.
It has been one month since Spains Indignados
(Indignant Ones) movement non-violently claimed
60 city-squares across the country, calling for
economic democracy, political justice and peace.
Since then, much has happened within Spanish
borders, and what is happening there is clearly
spreading across Europe, where we have witnessed
social movements making similar demands.
We have observed the rise of a parallel movement
in Portugal where most city squares have also
been camped on by Indignados and where only
hours before the countrys general elections
protesters in Lisbon were attacked and beaten by police.
We have witnessed how on that same night, in
Athens, Greece, 80,000 protesters congregated in
the citys main square in opposition to the
countrys austerity measures, waving banners
in solidarity with the Indignados of Spain and of other European countries.
In Paris, we have seen the Bastille taken
non-violently by French Indignados only to be
quickly reclaimed by the countrys police force.
Wherever you look in Europe, you hear the same
cries of indignation. In some countries with
more intensity than others, but the cry is
becoming louder everywhere, and what may seem
like a slow-motion financial collapse is rapidly
becoming an accelerated social catastrophe.
Specifically in Spain, despite the political
elite depicting a country recovering from the
financial collapse, everyday things are getting
worse economically, politically and socially.
Protests, although nonviolent for the most part,
could be on the verge of becoming violent unless
the political and economic elites begin to make some concessions.
On the economic front, Spain began the month of
June with comments from the European Commission
about the potential that the country will miss
its economic growth and budget-deficit targets
for the year. The commissions recommendation was more economic reform.
Then a report from the ratings agency Moodys
pointed out that the high Catalan deficit was
affecting the solvency of the whole of Spain.
A few days later, in the region of Castilla-La
Mancha, the incoming administration of the
rightwing Popular Party (PP), before even taking
office, proclaimed that the region was totally bankrupt.
Then, the National Statistics Institute revealed
that Spains property sales in April had been
the lowest since the institute began reporting in 2007.
Obviously, this stream of negative news, coupled
with discussions taking place in Europe
regarding a potential debt default by Greece,
affected Spains bond sales and moved the
country one step closer to a bailout, or a
default followed by its subsequent debt restructuring.
On the political front, June has been equally
intense. The government has approved by decree
changes in collective bargaining agreements
after failed negotiations with the two major trade unions in the country.
The government also approved the extension
indefinitely of the Spanish military mission in
Libya and announced the creation of a new NATO
operations center to control Spanish airspace
and help missions coordinated from Southern Europe.
On the social front, as of the first of June,
the government warned that the Indignados
could not remain camped on city squares much longer.
Spains Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero, addressed the request from the
Indignados for electoral reform by telling
them the changes could only be possible through
consensus from all political parties, a way to respond without complying.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited
Spain with the advice that demonstrators should
be heard but not allowed to govern.
Yet, according to a survey published by the
newspaper El Pais, there exists wide support (81
percent) for the movement among the Spanish population.
Among the supporters are public intellectuals,
such as Vicent Navarro, Arcadi Oliveras and
Eduardo Galeano, along with political figures
such as Santiago Carrillo, who was the secretary
general of the Spanish Communist Party and a key
voice during the countrys transition to
democracy, and Cayo Lara, the coordinator for
the third largest political party in Spain, Izquierda Unida.
Even Rosalía Mera, who is Spains richest woman
according to Forbes Magazine, has expressed
public support for the Indignados.
Reacting to recent events, commissions of the
Indignados from across the country met in
Madrids Puerta del Sol Square to discuss the movements future.
Through a process of popular assembly, they agreed to three key actions:
First, to boycott the countrys Town Halls as
the new governments were sworn in following the
recent regional and local elections; second, to
abandon city squares and move their social
action into city neighborhoods in an attempt to
broaden the movements involvement with the rest
of the citizenry; and third, to continue
organizing protests on specific dates focused on
particular issues, including a firm commitment
to a global protest of Indignados on Oct. 15.
The first nationwide coordinated initiative
since the spontaneous movement mushroomed on May
15, the boycott of Town Halls, was well
represented by Indignados across Spain.
Demonstrators blocked entrances to Town Halls,
climbed onto the balconies, prevented official
cars from exiting car parks, disturbed
investiture sessions with speeches, and followed
politicians across cities as they celebrated
their victories, shouting to them, shame on you!
Artur Mas, president of the Generalitat (the
government of the Catalan autonomous region),
was forced to arrive at parliament in a police
helicopter, as thousands of Indignados blocked
the entrance in an attempt to stop the regions budget approval.
The protesters shouted: You do not represent
us! The parliamentary session began with only
half of the representatives able to enter the building.
In Valencia, the police charged at demonstrators
injuring 12 and arresting five. To avoid further
protests in that city, where the new government
has ten of its members including its president
facing corruption charges, Spains vice
president, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, canceled a planned trip.
In the city of Madrid, police batons struck
protesters. In Salamanca, five Indignados were
injured. In Burgos, two were arrested. In
Castellón, the protesters were violently
dispersed as they were in Vigo and in Santiago de Compostela.
Following the arrests across the country,
spontaneous demonstrations followed in front of
police headquarters demanding the prompt release
of those detained. Most protesters were released on bail.
It seems clear, when one takes an in-depth look
at events unfolding in Spain, that these
protests have hit a nerve throughout Spanish
society, despite the fact that the movement is
practicing a form of nonviolent direct democracy
which is not familiar to most Spaniards, nor for
that matter to most citizens in Western-style democracies.
Spains political, social and economic climate
is beginning to be shaped, at least partially, by these cries of indignation.
Nevertheless, there is a danger that unless
economic and political elites begin to listen
and engage in some serious dialogue with the
Indignados instead of sending out the police
to attack them the nonviolence could quickly turn to violence.
Spains nonviolent protesters are not Gandhis
well-trained and disciplined nonviolent
peacemakers with months of rigorous training in
Gandhian Ashrams. This is a one-month-old
spontaneous and diverse movement, which is only
now beginning to organize and present specific demands.
Whether the Indignados will turn violent if
the police continue to beat them or whether
the countrys elites will begin addressing the
popular demands rising from the streets we will learn only as events unfold.
Pablo Ouziel's articles and essays are available
at <http://pabloouziel.com>pabloouziel.com.
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Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com/2011/06/
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