¡Democracia Real YA!

The demonstration in Madrid on May 15, 2011

¡Democracia Real YA!
Formation	March 2011
Type	Grassroots organization
Legal status	Active
Purpose/focus	Manifest
Location	Spain
Official languages	Spanish
Website	democraciarealya.es

Protestors marching in Madrid on May 15, 2011

¡Democracia Real YA! (Real Democracy NOW!), also known as Plataforma Democracia Real Ya! (Real Democracy NOW Platform!), is a grassroots citizens' organization that was started in March 2011 in Spain,^[1] and that by May 15 sparked the political movement of the 2011 Spanish protests, which gained world wide attention and has been inspired by the 2010-2011 Arab Spring which started in Tunisia and Egypt.^[2] The revolt has been compared to the May 1968 social movement in France.^[3] Democracia Real YA is made up of around 200 various smaller organizations.^[4] Democracia Real Ya began out of a desire to change the political environment from one the stifled the youth, unemployed, underpaid, and middle class to one that represented the will of the people. DRY is apolitical and merely wants to change the political course of Spain. The platform wants to avoid being associated with leftist groups, though clearly the desires of DRY and some leftist groups are mutual. The movement drew inspiration from 2011 revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and uprisings in 1968 France, and Greece in 2008.^[5]

The protest movement gained momentum on May 15 with a camping occupation in Madrid's main square, Puerta del Sol, and soon spread to squares in 57 other major and smaller cities in Spain,^[2][6] and then to Spanish embassies all around the world.^[7] The initial founders of Real Democracy NOW! are Fabio Gándara,^[8][9] Eric Pérez and an anonymous person;^[10] spokespeople are Carlos Paredes,^[11] Paco López,^[12] Aída Sánchez and Fabio Gándara.^[1]

Real Democracy NOW! states in its manifesto that it is a broad social movement and has no affiliation with any political party or labour union, does not advocate violence of any kind and is unwilling to join any of the existing political bodies, albeit, it is not an apolitical movement."Democracia Real YA Manifesto". http://www.democraciarealya.es/manifiesto-comun/manifesto-english/.  It was one of the principle associations that organized the 15M demonstration and supported the camp that appeared shortly thereafter. It currently makes extensive use of the Internet and social networks^[13] for communication and organization purposes. Real Democracy NOW! considers the current political and economic system unable to listen to and represent its citizens and hence demands changes to the social an economic policies which have led many people to into unemployment, loss of their homes and poverty. The organization denounces the way big businesses and banks dominate the political and economic sphere and aims to propose a series of solutions to these problems through grassroots participatory democracy based on people's assemblies and consensus decision making.^[14]

Demands of Democracia Real Ya

Democracia Real Ya and the protesters have stated that their demands of the Spanish government are: elimination of privileges for the political class, measures to combat unemployment, measures to promote rights to housing, measures to improve public services in teaching, health, and public transport, increased regulation of the banking industry, implementation of new fiscal measures, measures in favor of citizen’s rights and participatory democracy, and a reduction in military spending. Together they believe that this culmination will bring about the change in society needed to assist those who are not among the country's priviliged elite. ^[15]

Influences and Related Social Movements

While the concentration of economic and political power are at the heart of the protests in Spain, other sources of inspiration include the financial crisis of Iceland, the film Inside Job, and the text Time for Outrage! (English translation), a booklet written by a concentration camp survivor and member of the French Resistance, Stéphane Hessel. The protests in Spain are part of a global unrest brought about by austerity measures implemented by various governments, such as pension reform for public employees in Wisconsin. ^[16][17]

Other protests with similarities to the Spanish protests include:^[18]

• 2011 Egyptian revolution
• Tunisian Revolution
• May 1968 in France
• 2008 Greek riots
• 2010-2011 Greek protests

The Protests in Spain also inspired the Occupy Wall Street movement^[19] Democracia Real Ya calls for the immediate return of control over the polis and government back to the people. As demonstrated by protesters camping out in Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, Tahrir Square in Cairo, Puerta del Sol in Madrid, and Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona, there is a general discontent and hatred for the usurpation of public control by private interests. Those encamped hope to raise awareness and support for their cause of putting people ahead of corporate interests and making sure that democratic governments around the world are capable of serving as voices of the voting public.^[20]

Chronology of Events

• September 29, 2010 - Spain’s unions led a General Strike throughout the country to protest new labor reforms. The government had passed the reforms to improve the economy, but in reality they made conditions for the workers worse. The General Strike was one of the first events in Spain where the common people voiced their concerns against the capitalist government.
• January 27th, 2011 - Unions in Catalonia, Galicia, and Basque Country held a smaller strike. They were protesting more labor reforms of the Socialist government, especially the raising of the retirement age to 67.
• April 7th, 2011 - 5,000 people gathered in Madrid to support the group Youth without a Future (Juventud sin Futuro) and their goals to change the capitalist economic structure.
• May 1st, 2011 - May Day traditionally has been a day to celebrate workers around the world. In Barcelona, the unions led this protest that turned into a violent rebellion. Workers destroyed many businesses in the richest neighborhood until they were stopped by the police.
• May 13th, 2011 - DRY occupied the central office of Santander Bank in Murcia to symbolize their rebellion against the richest percentages of society and the power of the bankers.
• May 15th, 2011 – The first protest. Democracia real YA counted 50,000 participants in Madrid alone. Protesters blocked Gran Via avenue and held a peaceful sit-in on Callao St. Police used physical force to move the protesters, causing riots to erupt.
• May 16th, 2011 – A group of protesters gathered in Puerta del Sol and vowed to stay there through the elections on May 22nd. #spanishrevolution became a trending topic on Twitter.
• May 17th, 2011 – In the morning, police removed the 150 overnight protesters from Puerta del Sol. Overnight protests took place in 30 cities throughout Spain. In the evening, 4000 protesters re-occupied Puerta del Sol, and 300 of them stayed until dawn of the next day.
• May 18th, 2011 – Democracia Real YA set up a large tarp canopy and food stand in Puerta del Sol. Police evacuated protesters from plazas in Valencia, Tenerife, Granada and Las Palmas. The Federation of Neighbor Associations of Barcelona (FAVB) announced their support of the protests. Several key newspapers from around the world published articles about the protests. In the evening, the President of the Regional Electoral Committee of Madrid issued a statement declaring the protests illegal.
• May 20th, 2011 – United Left appealed the ban on the protests before the Spanish Supreme Court, which upheld the decision. United Left announced it would appeal the decision before the Constitutional Tribunal.
• May 21st, 2011 – 28,000 protesters occupied Puerta del Sol and surrounding area. Thousands of people attended protests in other Spanish cities, and smaller protests were held in several cities across Europe.
• May 22nd, 2011 – The protesters in Puerta del Sol who had vowed to stay until this day decided to occupy the plaza for at least another week.
• May 24th, 2011 – Representatives from Democracia real YA read a manifesto on live television. About 30 protesters entered various financial sites in the city center, vocally protesting the political and economic systems.
• May 25th, 2011 – The Spanish Ministry of Defense relocated various activities for Armed Forces Day due to the ongoing occupation of Plaza de la Constitución.
• May 27th, 2011 – 350 police officers used physical force to evacuate protesters from Plaça de Catalunya, resulting 121 light injuries from baton blows. A few hours later, the protesters re-occupied the square. Similar incidents occurred in other Barcelona squares.
• June 4th, 2011 – Representatives of the regional assemblies of 15M gathered in Madrid for another manifestation in Puerta del Sol.
• June 8th, 2011 – Manifestations continued outside Congreso de los Diputados, Madrid. Manifestations in Valencia and Barcelona gained momentum.
• June 9th, 2011 – 18 people were injured during clashes between the police and the protesters in Valencia. These clashes triggered nother protest that united over 2000 people. Protest in support shook Madrid and Barcelona.
• June 15th, 2011 – thousands of people gathered outside Parc de Ciutadella, Barcelona, to protest against cuts in education funding and healthcare. The protesters tried to block the entrance to the Catalan Parliament.
• June 16th, 2011 – Protests against bank repossession of the property occurred in several cities, including Parla, where dozens of people gathered outside the apartment of Luiz Dominguez, 74, and blocked the entrance against police officers and bank officials who had come to repossesses Dominguez’s apartment. More protests of the same agenda happened in Tetuan and Barcelona. The manifestations spread to other parts of Europe, including the UK. With demonstration outside the Spanish Embassy in London (May, 21), the web-page 15M Londres was launched.
• June 26th, 2011 – The demonstration in Wimbledon received considerable media coverage after its participants were accused of trying to tamper with the events of the Wimbledon Championship. The protesters denied the accusations.
• July 1st, 2011- Xavier Trias, Spanish Catalan politician and member of Democratic Convergence of Catalonia, is sworn in as Mayor of Barcelona. Dozens gathered outside Barcelona’s town hall in protest.
• July 27th, 2011- Indignados start epic march to Brussels. Nobel Prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz, addresses Indignados as first 15M social forum. Police violently evict protestors camped in front of congress.
• September 17th, 2011 – First protesters march through New York City during the start of the “Occupy Wall Street” Movement, inspired in part by the Spanish protests and other demonstrations worldwide
• October 15th, 2011 – Peaceful protests take place in more than a thousand cities of 90 countries worldwide, inspired by the Spanish Indignados, the Arab Spring, the Greek Protests and the Occupy Wall Street movements.

First protests organized by Real Democracy NOW!

Shortly after Stéphane Hessel’s tract Time for Outrage! (Indignez-vous!) and Rosa María Artal’s book, React (Reacciona) were published, the movement organized demonstrations in 50 Spanish cities on May 15, 2011 requesting a new democratic model, denouncing the corruption of politicians and the powerful influence of banks in the political sphere. Inspired by the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests, the Arab Spring, the 2010–2011 Greek protests on May 15 in over 50 Spanish cities, protests began denouncing politicians and the financial system. The movement refused to support any political party, nor any labour union and was able to mobilize tens of thousands of citizens under the slogan ‘Real democracy NOW, We are not merchandise for bankers and politicians’. After the very first demonstration in Madrid, a few of these "outraged" citizens attempted to occupy Puerta del Sol but were arrested. Some others were willing to stay there until the election day on Sunday but were forced to leave. After the eviction, the platform stated: "Los organizadores se desmarcan y rechazan cualquier incidente violento ocurrido después de la manifestación en Madrid. Según la información de la que disponemos, los incidentes violentos, totalmente reprobables, fueron mínimos, siendo la mayor parte de las acciones posteriores protestas de desobediencia civil pacífica ante las cuales las Fuerzas de Seguridad del Estado actuaron de forma desmedida, hecho que condenamos igualmente y mostramos nuestra solidaridad con aquellos heridos y detenidos de manera injustificada por el mero hecho de pasar por allí sin que mediara provocación alguna." Translation: "The organizers of the protest distance ourselves from and reject any violent incident which occurred after the protest in Madrid. According to our sources, the incidents of violence, completely reprehensible, were minimal, occurring for the most part after the protests of peaceful civil disobedience towards which the State Security Forces acted in a disproportionate and excessive manner, which we equally condemn and wish to show our solidarity with those who were unjustly injured and detained for the mere fact of having been there without provoking anyone."

On May 17, over 10 000 people gathered again in Madrid. Camps began to spread beyond Puerta del Sol to main squares in many other cities throughout Spain,^[21] and eventually Europe. In the days before Spanish regional elections Real Democracy NOW! clarified that the camps had been organized by individuals, not by DRY. They stated that they were not seeking abstention, instead they had organized for a long term change the political and financial institutions so that they serve the majority of the population instead of the minority.

These protest actions paved the way for what turned into the full-blown 2011 Spanish protests.

Arrests

On the first night of protests, 19 students were arrested and charged for public disorder and damaging public property. Eighteen of the arrested were kept for two days; one was released for health reasons. According to witness of the event, there was reported “abuse of authority” by the police when handling the protesters. ^[22] Those protesters who stayed in Puerta del Sol demanded the release of the students with all charges dropped, many insisting that the police began to hit the students without any warning. Two days later, on the 17th, the 18 remaining students were released but protesters stood outside the gates of the courts demanding their acquittal. ^[23][24]

Secondary waves of protests

On May 18th, thousands more joined the protesters in response to the Board of Elections of Madrid prohibiting the protest in Puerta del Sol. The protests were also banned in Granada. The influx of protesters, or as they called themselves "indignados" or the outraged, was organized via Twitter and took Spain by surprise because previously, the Spanish had not brought anything to protest despite their high unemployment rate.

Police surrounded the protests on the 18th but made no attempts to interfere.

The International Monetary Fund stated that the majority of the protesters were youths of the “lost generation”

The end of protests

The Central Board of Elections met to decide definitively about the Day of Reflection, the day before Election Day, a period of time during which no political propaganda is allowed. The Board ruled that the encampments of protesters must be broken up during the Day of Reflection, from May 21st - May 22nd. ^[25] The protests were considered to be politically charged in a way that might affect the outcome of the elections. President Zapatero agreed with the Board’s ruling.^[26] On May 21st, many of the encampments across Spain were broken up. No violence accompanied this dispersal; the police were ordered not to use force. Despite the Election Board's ruling, some of the protesters remained. These protesters symbolically taped their mouths shut as they were ordered to be silent.^[27]

Democracia Real YA's manifesto

Despite allegations of being a left-wing movement, Democracia Real YA's manifesto, and the movement's rhetoric in general,^[28] claims to transcend the traditional one-dimensional left-right paradigm:

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. "Democracia Real YA Manifesto". http://www.democraciarealya.es/manifiesto-comun/manifesto-english/. 

Post-election declarations

On May 22, the Popular Party won in a majority of regional and autonomous elections. According to a spokesman from Democracia Real ¡Ya!, "the fact that the Popular Party has won these elections doesn’t mean that a blank check will make us forget the problems that have outraged us. Keeping in mind that the participation reached 65%, and the percentage of the vote for the Popular Party within this percentage was 37%, only one in every four citizens of voting age had the confidence to vote for the Popular Party.”^{[citation needed] [29]}

The results of this election have lead some to criticizing the election system, declaring that it “fails everywhere.” Using social networks, many disconcerted people have reasserted the claims of some leftist and revolutionary groups when commenting on the Popular Party’s victory.^{[citation needed]}

Democracia Real ¡Ya! published three official declarations the day after the Popular Party’s success. ^[30]

1. DRY has never promoted abstention. From here on, we will defend political participation but everyone is responsible to decide freely and conscientiously whether or not he/she exercises the right to vote and the meaning of it.
2. Although we do not advocate abstention, it is necessary to remind the winning parties that a large proportion of the population is still outraged and disaffected, and therefore they should not think that a blank check will suffice to govern: the citizens will continue demanding changes
3. We will not accept a return to politics of fear based on the axiom “here comes the PP.” If the leftist parties have not excited or convinced the voters, it is your responsibility. Our duty is to denounce the excess that has infiltrated all of the parties, whichever they may be. They must learn from the mistakes they have made.

These declarations were based on the idea that the protests should stimulate or draw out the population that doesn’t vote.

Actions supported by the movement after the 15M

October 15 Protests in Madrid

The following official protests organized by True Democracy NOW were the demonstrations of 19 June in 50 cities in Spain and some foreign capital cities. The main facts of the demonstrations were the Euro Pact (modifications to the agreements of the Stability and Growth Pact). The next call is the international mobilization #globaldemocracy, which will organize hundreds of demonstrations over the world 15 October 2011.

Locations of similar protests around the world

The platform True Democracy NOW with more than 200 associations, organizations and blogs attached, have decided to not support a popular referendum organized for that same day, that in their opinion has not taken into account the groups that form the 15M movement and the Sol Camping economy group. This group have added that the organizers haven’t asked working groups, village or neighbourhoods assemblies. True Democracy NOW says that this consultation doesn’t guarantee the protection of the voter data and its unknown who will manage that information. They consider that the consultation is precipitated, the questions doesn’t give a real vision of the movement.

Members

The movement is made up of individuals as well as a coalition of around 200 various grassroots organizations such as:

• NoLesVotes (Don't vote for them)^[31]
• Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (Platform of those affected by the Subprime mortgage crisis)^[32]
• Asociación Nacional de Desempleados (ADESORG) (National Association of the Unemployed)
• Juventud Sin Futuro (Youth Without A Future)^[33]
• Attac España (Global Economic Justice)^[34]
• Ecologistas en Acción (Ecologists in Action)^[35]
• Estado del Malestar (The Badfare State)^[36]

See also

• 2011 Spanish protests
• Reacts
• Real Democracy Now! (Greece)
• Time for Outrage!

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Requena, Ana El día que lo cambió todo in Público, 22/05/2011
2. ^ ^{a b} Frayer, Lauren Inspired by Arab Protests, Spain's Unemployed Rally for Change, in voanews, May 19, 2011
3. ^ Spain's "indignados" summon spirit of 1968, at The Real News, May 22, 2011
4. ^ Alcaide, Soledad; Movimiento 15-M: los ciudadanos exigen reconstruir la política, 17 de mayo de 2011 (consultado el mismo día).
5. ^ "Manifesto." Real Democracia Ya. Real Democracia Ya, n.d. Web. 6 Nov 2011. <http://www.democraciarealya.es/manifiesto-comun/>.
6. ^ Sarah Rainsford Youths defiant at 'Spanish revolution' camp in Madrid, BBC News 21 May 2011
7. ^ La mecha de Sol prende de Valencia a Tokio, in Publico, 21/05/2011
8. ^ Fabio Gándara: "Queremos una democracia más avanzada, no influir en el voto", interview of Democracia Real member Fabio Gándara in Spanish tv program Al rojo vivo at laSexta
9. ^ Fabio Gándara, portavoz de ¡Democracia real ya!: "Yo votaré el domingo" in Diario de Burgos
10. ^ "El 15 -M sacude el sistema". El País. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/reportajes/-M/sacude/sistema/elpepusocdmg/20110522elpdmgrep_1/Tes. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
11. ^ Interview of Democracia Real member Carlos Paredes in the Argentinan news channel Canal 5 Noticias
12. ^ Acompañamos en el tren a Paco López, uno de los organizadores by Equipo VÚDEO, 12/05/2011
13. ^ "N-1". N-1.cc. https://n-1.cc/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
14. ^ "Assembliary Methodology". Madrid Toma Los Barrios. http://madrid.tomalosbarrios.net/metodologia-asamblearia/. Retrieved 5 August 2011. 
15. ^ Real Democracia Ya Wikipedia page (Spanish)
16. ^ "Austerity Alert." Article in The Economist, 1 July 2010
17. ^ Office of the Governor Scott Walker, "Governor Walker Introduces Budget Repair." 11 Feb 2011
18. ^ "¡Democracia Real Ya!" Spanish Wikipedia Page
19. ^ http://www.allmediany.com/details_news_article.php?news_artid=2107
20. ^ Hardt, Michael, and Antonio Negri. "The Fight for ." Foreign Affairs. (2011): n. page. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136399/michael-hardt-and-antonio-negri/the-fight-for-real-democracy-at-the-heart-of-occupy-wall-street>.
21. ^ "Toma la plaza". Toma la plaza. http://tomalaplaza.net/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
22. ^ "Democracia Real Ya busca ahora ampliar la protesta para las elecciones del 2011". Publico.es. http://www.publico.es/espana/376670/democracia-real-ya-busca-ahora-ampliar-la-protesta-elecciones2011. 
23. ^ Denuncia abuso autoridad. Magazine Rolling Stone, May 24 2011.
24. ^ Declaraciones. Magazine Rolling Stone, May 24
25. ^ "La Junta Electoral prohíbe las manifestaciones del 15-M". El Pais. http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/05/18/actualidad/1305752933_013731.html. 
26. ^ "Zapatero sobre los acampados: «Interior actuará con inteligencia»". Larazon.es. 2011-05-20. http://www.larazon.es/noticia/2007-zapatero-asegura-que-se-garantizara-el-respeto-a-la-jornada-de-reflexion. Retrieved 2011-10-24. 
27. ^ "Despite Ban, Protests Go On Again". New York Times". http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/world/europe/22spain.html. 
28. ^ "Madrid Take the Neighborhoods". Madrid Toma Los Barrios. http://madrid.tomalosbarrios.net/. Retrieved 5 August 2011. 
29. ^ "Official Facebook page for Democracia Real Ya". http://www.facebook.com/democraciarealya/posts/132870706789548. 
30. ^ "Official communication of Democracia Real Ya in a press note from May 23". Democraciarealya.es. 2011-10-15. http://www.democraciarealya.es/. Retrieved 2011-10-24. 
31. ^ "NoLesVotes.com". NoLesVotes.com. http://www.nolesvotes.com/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
32. ^ "Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca-PAH". Afectadosporlahipoteca.wordpress.com. https://afectadosporlahipoteca.wordpress.com/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
33. ^ "Juventud SIN Futuro". Juventud SIN Futuro. http://www.juventudsinfuturo.net/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
34. ^ "ATTAC España | Justicia Económica Global". Attac.es. http://www.attac.es/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
35. ^ "Ecologistas en Acción". Ecologistasenaccion.org. http://www.ecologistasenaccion.org/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
36. ^ "Estado del Malestar | Defiende tus derechos!". Malestar.org. 2011-05-18. http://malestar.org/. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 

External links

• Official website
• Brochure protests convened on June 19
• Documentary video Take the Streets against the Euro-Pact On the 19th of June of 2011