The openMovements series invites leading social scientists to share their research results and perspectives on contemporary social struggles.
Pablo Iglesias at the closing rally in Madrid, June 24, 2016. Francisco Seco / Press Association. all rights reserved. Five years ago, after the square
occupation started by the activist network “Juventud Sin Futuro” (“Youth
Without Future”) on May 15, 2011, a small group of people decided to camp at the
Puerta del Sol, the emblematic square of Madrid. They pointed to the lack of
political alternatives before local elections and the first major social cuts
of the economic crisis provoked by Zapatero’s Socialist government. Traditional
politics didn’t meet the aspirations of an overwhelming part of the citizenship,
thus the Indignants movement began.
The facts are well known: almost a
month-long camp, demonstrations in more than 60 Spanish cities, more than a
million people on the streets, more than 500 assemblies all over the world, and
a series of parallel mobilizations, like the different “occupy” movements.
Another relevant consequence was the
birth of new political parties, among which Podemos stands out. Two years from
its creation, Podemos has achieved power in some municipalities and one Autonomous
Community. Today Unidos Podemos aspires to win the national elections.
Are we better off than 5 years ago?
If we look at the main claims, not
only have the goals not been achieved, but also in most cases the situation is
worse. More youngsters have been marginalised, and precarious work has spread
to almost all layers of society. Some of the demands collectively approved on
May 20 at Puerta del Sol included: respect for the fundamental rights guaranteed
by the Constitution, such as the right to housing, free and universal public
health and education; measures regarding the banks and financial markets;
rejection and denunciation of corruption; calling for the regulation and monitoring
of work conditions, etc.
According to the Spanish
Economically Active Population Survey, youth unemployment has increased to 46.5%,
with peaks these years reaching above 53%, becoming the highest in all Europe.
The percentage of unemployed people is basically the same, around 22% of the
population; however, there are fewer jobs because of the reduction in an active
population. Thus, according to data from the National Statistics Institute,
more than two million people have left Spain in the last 5 years, more than five
hundred thousand of which are Spanish, mainly university graduate youngsters. The
Labour Reform designed and approved at the beginning of the Partido Popular (PP)
government, led to an even more precarious labour market. Temporary jobs represent
92% of the employment contracts signed last year, with 80% of temporary
contracts, the highest rate in Eurozone.
According to the OECD, the gap between
rich and poor has considerably increased in Spain, at a record rate of 10% yearly
during this period. UNICEF claims that child poverty has reached 30% in Spain, and extreme poverty 7%. Spanish Federation of Food Banks’
data show
that 350,000 children in Spain have no access to milk. In total, that figure amounts
to 1.7 million people with a more than worrying deficit of that staple.
While major banks recovered and
obtained significant profits, in any case not even a cent was given back out of
the 100,000 million Euros of public loans, but at the same time foreclosures have
continued. Thus, according to data from the Bank of Spain, more than 200,000
families have lost their homes in the last 5 years (600,000 since 2007), and
many of them are still paying their mortgage interest, because nonrecourse debt
is not accepted.
Public university, public education
and public health haven’t recovered pre-crisis levels; their budgets are still
being cut (between 8% and 12% per year). The same is happening with scholarships
and social provision, as university fees increase. It seems obvious that the
small economic growth that Spain has experienced in the last year and a half
(between 2% and 3%), only benefited the richest. But behind this slight growth,
there are also other extremely worrying macroeconomic data, like the fact that
since February Spanish public debt has exceeded 100% of GDP, almost double that
of 5 years ago. We owe more money than we have.
Lastly, regarding liberties, the approval of the “Gag Law” has undermined freedom of speech
and association with outrageous arrests that have been denounced by Amnesty
International, but which also undermine the freedom of press, taking Spain to
the 26th European position according to FreedomHouse. Moreover, a few days ago,
Spain was fined for the sixth time by the Strasbourg Court because of failing
to investigate cases of torture.
At the same time huge new cases of
corruption have been uncovered every day. Two ministers have resigned for being
related to cases of corruption. At a national and regional level, PP is being
investigated for illegal funding, as well as every treasurer of the party since
its foundation. The situation is not any better for the Socialist Party (PSOE).
At the same time, up to 4 judges who investigate these awful cases have been
set aside, retired or laid off. Even several members of the Royal House are
under trial or have been investigated for appropriation of public funds and/or
defrauding public finance. Nowadays there are more than 1,000 politicians being
investigated with a couple of dozen in jail. A study by the University of Las
Palmas shows that corruption costs Spain about 40,000 million
Euros per year.
Old and new politics
It seems obvious in retrospect that
traditional political parties, mainly those taking turns in government, PP and PSOE,
didn’t want to channel any of the majority proposals advanced by the 15M demonstrations.
The words tweeted by President of the Madrid Community, Esperanza Aguirre,
sum up quite well what has happened: The governments that infuriate the
citizens are removed from office by peacefully voting at the polls. #acampadasol #democraciarealya
Since traditional parties haven’t incorporated
any of those measures into their platforms, new political initiatives arose.
These political parties and initiatives have been as varied as the ideas,
collectives and citizens that were present in 15M. The one that has most
matured is Podemos, a nationwide party that in less than 2 years since its
birth became the third political force in the December 20 national elections.
Today, after its alliance with Izquierda Unida (a more left-wing party, United
Left), Podemos is in a position to dispute second and even first place in the June
26 national elections.
The debate taking place around this
development is extensive, intense, and, in many cases, biased. How much 15M
there is in Podemos? Is Podemos the political transformation of 15M? What we
can say is that Podemos is one of the consequences of 15M, and that a
significant majority of 15M activists sympathize with or are members of Podemos.
Podemos is a nationwide political
party with delegations in every Autonomous
Community and the main towns, but alongside it, different kinds of regional
association have arisen, such as Ahora Madrid (Now Madrid), Barcelona en Comú
(Barcelona in Common), Marea Atlántica (Atlantic Tide) or Zaragoza en Común
(Zaragoza in Common). A year ago, those groups, with Podemos and also through
agreements with other left-wing parties and initiatives, gained entry into several
autonomous parliaments, governing in coalition or even winning the mayor’s
office of cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Cadiz, Zaragoza and A
Coruña. These are the so-called “governments of change”.
Nationwide, Podemos obtained 69
seats after the December 20, 2015 elections, but PSOE decided to sign an
agreement looking to the right, with another new party, Ciudadanos (Citizens),
born in 2006 in the heart of the Catalonian far-right, mainly consisting of
former members of PP and several other failed right or far-right-wing
associations, supported and funded by the IBEX 35 business leaders and with an
openly nationalist, conservative and liberal nature. All of this had taken
place in a context in which PP won the elections but was unable to form a
government, mainly due to the corruption that infects every structure of the
party.
Therefore, at a national level, making
an assessment of Podemos’ political influence to turn 15M demands into reality
is a complicated business, because they haven’t yet had government
responsibilities. Nonetheless, thanks to the highly decentralized Spanish system,
which delegates many areas of government to regional and local authorities, it
is possible to analyze facts through the local dimension.
Governments of change
The most significant measures of the
“governments of change” are focused on housing. Firstly, evictions decreased
thanks to new laws or proceedings, like Cadiz’s Anti-Eviction Proceedings,
Madrid’s Office of Mortgage Mediation, Barcelona’s Housing Emergency, etc.,
that ensured alternative accommodation before evictions. Likewise, the sale of
housing to vulture funds has stopped, altering town-development plans consecrated
to luxury houses and commerce, and adding a high percentage of public housing.
In one year, Barcelona gave 550 houses for social rent, Madrid approved a plan
to build 3,000 public houses in the current term, Cadiz approved the Program of
Fair Rent, that is expected to include 60 to 100 private houses each year, and
A Coruña increased this year’s budget in 600,000 Euros for a recently developed
Plan of Access to Decent Housing.
There are serious proposals for
taking back services that were privatized under previous governments, with the
goal of offering a better service but also of reducing costs between 20% and 50%.
Public housing, power, water, cleaning or funeral parlors are the main services
waiting to be taken over by the town again.
Regarding demands for more
democracy, all these “governments of change” started participative processes
affecting urban planning, town planning, and even the budgets. Madrid,
Zaragoza, Barcelona, Cadiz and the Community of Valencia developed so-called
“open governments”, web applications that allow voting on the main activities
of the government.
They also launched campaigns against
homophobia or islamophobia, supporting gender equality or Syrian refugees, or
against EU neoliberal politics such as the TTIP Treaty.
Therefore, some progress has been
made in the recovery of social rights. But cuts and regression have been so
brutal, with the Spanish right’s absolute majority, that such measures are more
a matter of repairing than transforming. This has generated criticism from
social movements. However, there are also promising macroeconomic data about
the management of these governments. According to the Ministry of the Treasury,
the three cities that reduced their debt the most since the 2015 municipal
elections were Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.
There is huge opposition to these
governments from the Spanish political and business class, clinging to the privileges
they gained during Franco’s dictatorship and the transition to democracy. Examples
abound. Just two months ago, when a PSOE-Podemos government was on the table,
the general director of the police stated that “Podemos is a threat against
our democracy”, something that was repeated, among others, by former
presidents Aznar (PP) and González (PSOE). In just one year, 5 cases have been
initiated against Podemos for illegal funding, based on fake reports and a highly
dubious police action, to say the least, all of them rejected by the public
prosecution and the Supreme Court.
Mainstream Spanish journals,
provided with news by agencies that were born during Franco’s dictatorship and
that survive partially thanks to government advertising, make headlines day
after day with news that connect Podemos to Chavism, Iran or even ETA terrorism.
All of this has had a series of
consequences, both positive and negative, inside Podemos, on their ability to
attract a sufficient majority of Spaniards, not only the youngest or those
involved in progressive and transforming social and political movements. In
this fashion, electoral programs and the most ambitious initiatives have been
watered down, and the party has gone through a rapid process of
institutionalization. The party’s internal democracy has been reduced, the
leader’s personal profile has increased, and their aspirations for change have
been limited. The positive outcome is that nowadays, about 6 million Spaniards
have decided to vote for Unidos Podemos in the upcoming general elections.
Beyond politics, post-2010 social movements are still alive
Actually, much has been achieved,
and in many senses. On one hand, we have new political parties and their
multiple alliances, but new spaces and ways beyond institutions arose too, with
a big transforming capacity in achieving specific goals. We have significant
examples: 15M, “citizens’ tides” [1] and related movements, succeeded in stopping
the privatization of Madrid’s public hospitals and set barriers against cuts in
education. The Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH, in its Spanish
acronym) succeeded in stopping more than 600 evictions and gave a platform to
the people affected. The movement “15M pa Rato” succeeded in prosecuting the former
minister and IMF director, Rodrigo Rato, for one of many offences for which he
is now being investigated. Charges have been laid against several corrupt
politicians and bankers. Other collectives proved Euribor’s manipulation,
leading to several big banks being fined by Brussels. Audits have been made on
the Spanish debt, as well as alternative citizen measures for energy-saving
(with estimated savings of 500 million Euros).
Almost coinciding with the 15M
anniversary, another group of “indignants” has decided to set up camp in the Republic Square of Paris. They’re young too. There are many similarities,
but many differences as well. The first thing to say is that Spanish youth live in a much more
precarious situation than the French. This national dimension is crucial to
understanding the so-called post-2010 movements, among which we find the
indignants, “occupy”, Nuit Debout, and, of course, the Arab Spring. And it is
becoming more and more important.
The diagnosis of a global neoliberal
context that reached it highest levels of domination during the economic global
crisis is still current. There remains a brotherhood spirit with other social
movements, like Nuit Debout, the Kurds, Yo Soy 123 (I am 123), in Mexico,
Greece and the different “occupy” movements. International demands continue in
support of Syrian refugees, Palestine or global issues like women’s rights, the
LGBT community or even European Islam. However, these connections are neither
as strong or as continuous as they were in 2011.
The spring runs wild
15M is now part of Madrid. It’s
something festive, an awakening that, like the spring, set hearts and
consciences in motion. It articulated a long-held impotence and rage in
thousands of people who don’t comply, who imagine, and who live and build a
different world and a new way of relating between citizens and with politics.
Nothing will be the same after 15M.
But the weight of our recent strongly Catholic and Franquist past, bears down oppressively
on any kind of social transformation. Unemployment is endemic, and proposed
solutions are exclusively confined to neoliberalism, strongly intertwined with profound
institutional corruption and the arrogance of politicians.
After June 26, the old politics,
specially PSOE, must ask itself how to react to the citizens’ needs and new
demands and where to look to give support, whether to the new or old right; or
to the left, more and more plural but united for the first time since the 2nd
Republic.
In their turn, the left and the new
parties have to ask themselves how to step towards the institutions, how far
are they willing to go away from the spirit that was the seed of their
gestation.
Spanish citizenship is still
impoverished, but it has more and more both symbolic and real resources, feels
less victimized, and is less willing to accept injustice and arbitrariness.
These are citizens who finally, from rock bottom, overcame fear. Citizens have
learned a great lesson thanks to 15 M, and they will never forget the power of
unity. Beyond the old and the new parties, 15M made a new conception of citizenship
possible, and a new way of making and understanding politics.
[1] The
Tides represent a series of mobilizations against social cuts in different
public areas. The first one, born in Madrid in 2011, was the
Green Tide in defence of public education. In
2012, the White Tide (against the privatization of Madrid’s public hospitals), and
later came the Purple Tide (cuts in equality policies), the Burgundy Tide
(against forced emigration), the Orange Tide (against cuts in social services),
etc. Since 2013, all of them are grouped under the umbrella, “Citizens’ Tide” (Marea Ciudadana).
How to cite:
Álvarez-Benavides A.(2016)Are we Spaniards better off five years afterwards?, Open Democracy / ISA RC-47: Open Movements,25 June. https://opendemocracy.net/antonio-lvarez-benavides/are-we-spaniards-better-off-five-years-afterwards