Protests spreading in Spain

[marmar]

Demonstrators in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, on 19 May 2011, protest at spending cuts and mismanagement of the economy. Photograph: Andrea Comas/REUTERS


from the WaPo:



Just days before local elections in Spain, 15,000 protesters have gathered in the main Puerta del Sol square of Madrid, protesting planned austerity measures.

The Spanish demonstrations have spread across the country to Sevilla, Granada and Valencia, encouraged by youth groups and social media campaigns.

The Madrid electoral board banned demonstrations, but thousands defied the prohibition, setting up camp in the square, with more people arriving each day.

Though riot police have been deployed in some cities, they have not intervened in the protests. Simon Hunter at the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the Cadiz mayor has said, “If they're demonstrations are independent, they have every right to be there.” ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/spainish-demonstrations-continue-around-country-for-fourth-day/2011/05/19/AFbBUC7G_blog.html

[xchrom]

1. Solidarity. Nt

[Ghost Dog]

2. Spain's 'El País' reports in English here:

http://www.elpais.com/english/

Their message: we're tired of being ignored by the very people who have been elected to protect us.

...

The protest was the brainchild of a small organization created just a few months ago. Democracia Real Ya is an amalgam of very diverse people, yet so well organized that they put together a security team of 200 people to prevent any trouble during the Madrid demonstration; they also had enough vision to use all the tricks in the book to keep the protest among Twitter's most popular conversation topics in the world for the entire day, using the term 15-M or 15mayo.

Fabio Gándara, the spokesman for Democracia Real Ya, said that the goal of the protest was to bring together the entire civil society. "It is time to leave all ideologies and specific interests aside, and focus on the things that make us angry," says this 26-year-old unemployed lawyer who is studying to be a civil servant. "What we're denouncing is the lack of real democracy and the tendency toward a two-party system where corruption at all levels is simply scandalous. These issues bring a large group of people together."

...

"Qualitatively, what has happened is very important," says Ramón Espinar, a 25-year-old student and member of another group called Juventud sin futuro, which organized a similar march a month ago. "This is the first time that the left, working outside the big parties and unions and without their support, and using a spontaneous, citizen-based organization, has gone out onto the street to play out the failure of the model," he says. "People are visibly tired."

/... http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/New/democracy/movement/senses/its/moment/elpepueng/20110517elpeng_1/Ten

[socialist_n_TN]

3. Solidarity! .........

WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! Another country where the rich capitalists are trying to get the people to pay for they're fuck ups.