Spanish Political News

[Ld222]

COPS ARREST 11, RAID ANARCHIST SOCIAL CENTRES. 16 SOLIDARITY DEMOS NOW

[Barcelona-Madrid] Operation of the High Court against the Catalan and Spanish libertarian movement

So far over 400 cops from 5.00am have arrested ten people in the city of Barcelona and the historic 25 yr occupied anarchist centre–La Casa de la Muntanya (The house on the mountain)the Anarchist workers centre of St Andreu barrio that of Anarchist Ateneo of Poble Sec neighbourhood as well as a dozen homes.

It’s an operation of the High Court against the Catalan and Spanish libertarian movement, against ”anarchist terrorists” who haven’t actually blown up or hurt anyone, but the raids justify the fascist style public order ‘gagging’ laws brought in just 2 days ago, against general opposition.

http://thefreeonline.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/cops-arrest-anarchists-mass-solidarity/

 

[JHE]

... against ”anarchist terrorists” who haven’t actually blown up or hurt anyone...

Yes, in general Anarchists are harmless creatures who would no more plant bombs than stand in parliamentary elections or tidy their rooms. Even the infamous Badger, who has a 10,000 quid reward on his little furry head, is only suspected of damaging things, not injuring people.

It doesn't help, though, when Anarcho-Wotsits plant bombs in cathedrals, as happened last year. It's true that no one was hurt, but that is only due to a combination of luck and anarcho-incompetence.

 

[Lo Siento.]

Yes, in general Anarchists are harmless creatures who would no more plant bombs than stand in parliamentary elections or tidy their rooms. Even the infamous Badger, who has a 10,000 quid reward on his little furry head, is only suspected of damaging things, not injuring people.

It doesn't help, though, when Anarcho-Wotsits plant bombs in cathedrals, as happened last year. It's true that no one was hurt, but that is only due to a combination of luck and anarcho-incompetence.

The Spanish Police are busy busting their way into family homes, libraries and social centres on totally spurious grounds, so they can harrass, intimidate and get their blacklists up to date from notebooks and computers, and all you've got is this?

 

[DotCommunist]

that gagging act is some draconian shit. Its a nick you for breathing charter. Reminds me of british ledg brought in after 7/7 etc

 

[Dogsauce]

that gagging act is some draconian shit. Its a nick you for breathing charter. Reminds me of british ledg brought in after 7/7 etc

Is it something that can be challenged under European human rights stuff, or is Spain not a signatory? It's an obscene breach of basic freedoms, hopefully the next government will throw this out (though the cynic in me suspects they won't, the powers will probably be useful to them, whatever their political flavour).

 

[J Ed]

Series of recent polls showing Podemos on top

http://cadenaser.com/ser/2015/01/09/politica/1420784845_465784.html

http://electomania.es/adelanto-barometro-de-enero-2015/

 

[treelover]

Incredible really, 9 points higher than the P/P and nearly five points higher than the PSOE, once could not have possibly conceived this a few years ago, but will it last?

 

[JHE]

On Thursday, when many of us were watching the Islamist horror in France, politicians of all parties, including Partido Popular (PP), declared their support for freedom of expression and their solidarity with Charlie Hebdo.

On the very same day, the Association for Dignity and Justice (which purports to campaign on behalf of victims of terrorism), with the support of assorted PPers, went before the courts to denounce a satirist called Facu Díaz, for a sketch which mocked PP by means of a parody of a terrorist press statement.

In the sketch, which was shown on La Tuerka in late October, Díaz appears ETA-style wearing a balaclava and makes a statement on behalf of PP, declaring that PP will cease armed activity and hand in their weapons. He also calls for the release from prison of 'our ideologue' Luis Bárcenas and other PP prisoners to be transferred to be nearer their bank accounts in Andorra.

The accusers say this goes beyond the limits of freedom of expression. Facu Díaz is accused of the crime of "humiliating the victims of terrorism". He has to appear in court this Thursday, 15 January.

Perhaps freedom of expression is all very well in its place, but its place is on the far side of the Pyrenees.

The video is available on YouTube:


On Twitter some in solidarity with Facu Díaz are using: #YoConFacu

 

[Lo Siento.]

Series of recent polls showing Podemos on top

http://cadenaser.com/ser/2015/01/09/politica/1420784845_465784.html

http://electomania.es/adelanto-barometro-de-enero-2015/

when the fuck did Ciudadanos/Ciutadans creep up to 5%?

 

[J Ed]

Fresh from his trip to France to express solidarity with satirists while trying to prosecute them in Spain, Rajoy is off on his travels to Greece to campaign against Pode--- err, Syriza.

 

[JHE]

He has to appear in court this Thursday, 15 January.

The judge threw the case out. The hearing took less than 10 minutes.

 

[Riklet]

gonna go see pablo iglesias and co (podemos) speak at some thing on saturday with a mate of mine.

will report back on this...

 

[october_lost]

COPS ARREST 11, RAID ANARCHIST SOCIAL CENTRES. 16 SOLIDARITY DEMOS NOW

[Barcelona-Madrid] Operation of the High Court against the Catalan and Spanish libertarian movement

So far over 400 cops from 5.00am have arrested ten people in the city of Barcelona and the historic 25 yr occupied anarchist centre–La Casa de la Muntanya (The house on the mountain)the Anarchist workers centre of St Andreu barrio that of Anarchist Ateneo of Poble Sec neighbourhood as well as a dozen homes.

It’s an operation of the High Court against the Catalan and Spanish libertarian movement, against ”anarchist terrorists” who haven’t actually blown up or hurt anyone, but the raids justify the fascist style public order ‘gagging’ laws brought in just 2 days ago, against general opposition.

http://thefreeonline.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/cops-arrest-anarchists-mass-solidarity/

Apparently, part of the charge is having “used emails with extreme security measures, such as the RISE UP server” which is a worrying assault on privacy as well as something which looks like a politically motivated move by the state.

 

[butchersapron]

Demo at the international brigade memorial in Castle park bristol 12 today

 

[J Ed]

Interesting bit has come up today which has excited Podemos supporters. Steve Jarding, prominent US Democrat and political consultant to Clinton, Al Gore and Kerry has said that he expects Podemos to win the next election

 

[treelover]

Will Spain join the Greek revolution? Don’t bet on it
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/29/podemos-spain-victory-less-clear

Is this a hatchet job by the former editor of Le Monde, Natalie Nougayrède?(studied at the elite Institut d’Études Politiques) I would say it is, it goes down the usual route of saying that Podemos and especially Inglesias must become more moderate(she cites the proto Blairite Felipe González and an example of a earlier former firebrand) and divest themselves of their more radical proposals and ideas.

 

[Kaka Tim]

Is this a hatchet job by the former editor of Le Monde, Natalie Nougayrède?(studied at the elite Institut d’Études Politiques) I would say it is, it goes down the usual route of saying that Podemos and especially Inglesias must become more moderate(she cites the proto Blairite Felipe González and an example of a earlier former firebrand) and divest themselves of their more radical proposals and ideas.

A very feeble hatchet job as well. Not one serious criticism - just smeer by inuendo - they admire Chavez! They have a leftwing bookshop! And lazy snidy shit like

During the Maidan protests in Ukraine, Iglesias largely came down on the side of Putin’s propaganda

.

I dont know very much about podemos -but I think any "cirtique" from this source can be safely binned.

 

[Lo Siento.]

La Gaceta ran a hilarious piece yesterday accusing Iglesias' dad of being a terrorist because he was a member of an antifa group which may have murdered members of the Guardia Civil in ... 1973! Yes, that's right whilst their dads were busy doing the respectable thing and helping run a brutal dictatorship that stole babies from left-wing mothers, the terrorist Javier Iglesias was in a resistance group. And he's proud of it, the scumbag!

 

[J Ed]

Interesting story in the past few days, for autonomous community elections in Madrid in May 2015 Podemos and Ganemos Madrid (a coalition including Izquierda Unida) have decided to put up a joint candidature.

 

[phildwyer]

For about thirty years now, the classic tactic of the reactionary media has been to paint anti-capitalism as old-fashioned, passe, obsolete, Victorian. One might have thought that they'd have to come up with something else these days, now that the tide is turning. But not the Guardian:

"Opposite the Podemos office, there’s a book shop run by some of its activists. Browsing through it feels like you’ve stepped into a time-machine: there are collections of Lenin’s works, and books on the Italian communist thinker Antonio Gramsci and the French 19th-century revolutionary Louise Michel."

This time though, they're really scraping the barrell:

"At it's worst, Podemos could resemble something like Leninist-centralism-meets-the-digital-age."

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/29/podemos-spain-victory-less-clear

Which is really quite disgraceful. Especially the cowardly qualification "at it's worst," I can just imagine the conversation at the editorial meeting. They must be scared.

But I don't think this line is going to hold for much longer. Expect a switch to "anti-capitalists as weird futurist utopians" after a Podemos victory.

 

[JHE]

Today is the day of the great Podemos march in Madrid - la Marcha de Cambio, they are calling it. It will be interesting to see how big it is. Anything less than enormous could feel like a flop. At least it's sunny. That could help a bit. We'll see.

Interesting story in the past few days, for autonomous community elections in Madrid in May 2015 Podemos and Ganemos Madrid (a coalition including Izquierda Unida) have decided to put up a joint candidature.

Tania Sanchez is the IU candidate for the presidency of the Comunidad de Madrid and keen for IU to join the new grouping. Some reports depict Sanchez as proposing the dissolution of IU Madrid. I'm not sure yet if this is entirely accurate or just reflects the direction. Her partner is Pablo Iglesias and there have long been accusations that she is Podemos' "submarine" within IU, but obviously it's about a lot more than her. Given the rise of Podemos, of course there are lots of IU people wanting to join forces.



All this feels a bit unimportant, though. The sneery Guardian's (accurate) description of a lefty bookshop in Lavapies makes no difference to anything. The tricky question of relations between lefty groups is interesting to a few people at most. The size of the march today will be talked about both by the participants and the various media (sympathetic and unsympathetic), but will be forgotten in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, however, the chances of Podemos winning and more importantly the economic prospects of many people in southern Europe are being decided not on the streets of Madrid, but in Athens, Berlin, other European capitals, the ECB, the IMF and the European Commission. If the Greeks manage to win important concessions from Merkel and chums, things might start getting a little better for the Greeks and in Spain Podemos could be the biggest party in November. On the other hand, if the Greeks find they have jumped from the frying pan into the fire, Podemos will do badly.

Fuck knows what's going to happen. Here's one pessimistic scenario:

Merkel and chums decide to use the Greeks to teach the Spanish and others a lesson. The international powers that be, strongly supported by the governments of Spain and Portugal, refuse to make concessions to the Greeks. Greece defaults, leaves the Eurozone in an abrupt way and devalues. This provides the opportunity for economic growth in a few years, but not at first. For the first year or two, the situation is even grimmer for the Greeks. The Spanish (who, like the Greeks, are very wary of leaving the Eurozone) see the plight of the Greeks and decide they don't want to follow that example. Support for Podemos shrinks.​

Would anyone like to put forward a more cheerful scenario?

 

[coley]

Today is the day of the great Podemos march in Madrid - la Marcha de Cambio, they are calling it. It will be interesting to see how big it is. Anything less than enormous could feel like a flop. At least it's sunny. That could help a bit. We'll see.



Tania Sanchez is the IU candidate for the presidency of the Comunidad de Madrid and keen for IU to join the new grouping. Some reports depict Sanchez as proposing the dissolution of IU Madrid. I'm not sure yet if this is entirely accurate or just reflects the direction. Her partner is Pablo Iglesias and there have long been accusations that she is Podemos' "submarine" within IU, but obviously it's about a lot more than her. Given the rise of Podemos, of course there are lots of IU people wanting to join forces.



All this feels a bit unimportant, though. The sneery Guardian's (accurate) description of a lefty bookshop in Lavapies makes no difference to anything. The tricky question of relations between lefty groups is interesting to a few people at most. The size of the march today will be talked about both by the participants and the various media (sympathetic and unsympathetic), but will be forgotten in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, however, the chances of Podemos winning and more importantly the economic prospects of many people in southern Europe are being decided not on the streets of Madrid, but in Athens, Berlin, other European capitals, the ECB, the IMF and the European Commission. If the Greeks manage to win important concessions from Merkel and chums, things might start getting a little better for the Greeks and in Spain Podemos could be the biggest party in November. On the other hand, if the Greeks find they have jumped from the frying pan into the fire, Podemos will do badly.

Fuck knows what's going to happen. Here's one pessimistic scenario:

Merkel and chums decide to use the Greeks to teach the Spanish and others a lesson. The international powers that be, strongly supported by the governments of Spain and Portugal, refuse to make concessions to the Greeks. Greece defaults, leaves the Eurozone in an abrupt way and devalues. This provides the opportunity for economic growth in a few years, but not at first. For the first year or two, the situation is even grimmer for the Greeks. The Spanish (who, like the Greeks, are very wary of leaving the Eurozone) see the plight of the Greeks and decide they don't want to follow that example. Support for Podemos shrinks.​

Would anyone like to put farward a more cheerful scenario?

No, I think your on the nail, Greece defaulting and giving the EU the finger would be an inconvenience to the powers that be,but Spain and possibly Italy? They would be massive game changers. So think Merkel and Co will take a very hard line with Greece as a warning to others,hope I'm wrong but given their stated attitude!?

 

[phildwyer]

Is this a hatchet job by the former editor of Le Monde, Natalie Nougayrède?(studied at the elite Institut d’Études Politiques) I would say it is, it goes down the usual route of saying that Podemos and especially Inglesias must become more moderate(she cites the proto Blairite Felipe González and an example of a earlier former firebrand) and divest themselves of their more radical proposals and ideas.

Ah, I didn't know who she was.

She's not saying they should become more moderate, she's trying to totally discredit them. And doing so using what I'd assumed was the obsolete tactic of linking them with Leninism. It's nothing more than Red Scare politics:

"Explaining his communication strategy, Iglesias once pointed out how in 1917 Lenin “didn’t talk to the Russians about ‘dialectical materialism’, he talked to them about ‘bread and peace’”. The Podemos leader also believes that “Heaven is not taken by consensus, it is taken by assault.” Such statements have made it easy for critics to accuse Iglesias of authoritarian tendencies, influenced by outdated ideologies."

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/29/podemos-spain-victory-less-clear

It's a disgrace and I'm surprised the Guardian printed it. But as with other such recent articles, I get the feeling that her heart isn't really in it. She must know what a joke her argument is, and she must know that everyone else knows as well. I can only assume she got very well paid.

 

[phildwyer]

Would anyone like to put forward a more cheerful scenario?

I can't hold out much hope that Merkel and the rest will do anything other than what you say. As Popeye puts it, they are what they are and that's all what they are. Tsipras should start banging on about how socialism in one country is impossible (without using the "S" word obviously) and we need some international solidarity. That message will resonate loudly in Spain, leading to a Podemos election. An anti-capitalist bloc forms.

It's also true, I don't think Syriza will be able to do much on their own. This Spanish election is the most important anywhere for some time.

 

[coley]

I can't hold out much hope that Merkel and the rest will do anything other than what you say. As Popeye puts it, they are what they are and that's all what they are. Tsipras should start banging on about how socialism in one country is impossible (without using the "S" word obviously) and we need some international solidarity. That message will resonate loudly in Spain, leading to a Podemos election. An anti-capitalist bloc forms.

It's also true, I don't think Syriza will be able to do much on their own. This Spanish election is the most important anywhere for some time.

That's why the Troika will do its damnedest to ensure the spaniards will vote for the right people.

 

[phildwyer]

That's why the Troika will do its damnedest to ensure the spaniards will vote for the right people.

For sure. It will be interesting to watch them pulling out all the stops. I wonder if they'll think of something better than the specter of Stalin Redux?

 

[DotCommunist]

For sure. It will be interesting to watch them pulling out all the stops. I wonder if they'll think of something better than the specter of Stalin Redux?

the other ones in the playbook seem to be acussations of chaves-love and ETTA affiliations

 

[J Ed]

Today is the day of the great Podemos march in Madrid - la Marcha de Cambio, they are calling it. It will be interesting to see how big it is. Anything less than enormous could feel like a flop. At least it's sunny. That could help a bit. We'll see.



Tania Sanchez is the IU candidate for the presidency of the Comunidad de Madrid and keen for IU to join the new grouping. Some reports depict Sanchez as proposing the dissolution of IU Madrid. I'm not sure yet if this is entirely accurate or just reflects the direction. Her partner is Pablo Iglesias and there have long been accusations that she is Podemos' "submarine" within IU, but obviously it's about a lot more than her. Given the rise of Podemos, of course there are lots of IU people wanting to join forces.

I was just hoping that it's a portent of things to come nationally, of course the IU is no KKE and it's very difficult to imagine the IU not forming a coalition with Podemos if asked.

Some great pics of the march here btw.

Fuck knows what's going to happen. Here's one pessimistic scenario:

Merkel and chums decide to use the Greeks to teach the Spanish and others a lesson. The international powers that be, strongly supported by the governments of Spain and Portugal, refuse to make concessions to the Greeks. Greece defaults, leaves the Eurozone in an abrupt way and devalues. This provides the opportunity for economic growth in a few years, but not at first. For the first year or two, the situation is even grimmer for the Greeks. The Spanish (who, like the Greeks, are very wary of leaving the Eurozone) see the plight of the Greeks and decide they don't want to follow that example. Support for Podemos shrinks.​

Would anyone like to put forward a more cheerful scenario?

I don't know. There are so many variables, no one knows what is going to happen.

Even if things get worse in terms of macroeconomics of Greece for a few years it seems difficult to imagine them getting that much worse in the short term even in the event of a default. I am sure that I do not have to tell you that the situation of the average person in Spain is not going to get much better between now and December, it's going to get worse - the evictions are continuing, unemployment is still in the mid twenties and support for Podemos is still growing.

 

[coley]

I was just hoping that it's a portent of things to come nationally, of course the IU is no KKE and it's very difficult to imagine the IU not forming a coalition with Podemos if asked.

Some great pics of the march here btw.



I don't know. There are so many variables, no one knows what is going to happen.

Even if things get worse in terms of macroeconomics of Greece for a few years it seems difficult to imagine them getting that much worse in the short term even in the event of a default. I am sure that I do not have to tell you that the situation of the average person in Spain is not going to get much better between now and December, it's going to get worse - the evictions are continuing, unemployment is still in the mid twenties and support for Podemos is still growing.

To be fair, it does look like things couldn't get any worse, so what have they got to lose?

 

[Kaka Tim]

one of merkels economic advisers was on radio just now saying how he is "shocked and surprised" by the new greek government's "aggressive attitude" and that given their stance he cant see how they can remain in the euro. I'm assuming that the last comment was meant as a barely disguised threat from merkel rather than his own opinion.

Im sure that their is a huge temptation by the Germans and the euro bankers to fuck greece off - but the political damage from that could be extremely toxic - do Germany really want to be seen as an arrogant bully screwing over the already impoverished greek people? Do they want to see mass anti german/ECB protests accross europe? A lot of people will not accept this as a matter of cold economic calculation - but in far more emotive/romantic terms.

I think there will be a lot of pressure from all sides to produce some sort of euro-fudge that more-or-less saves everyones face. Weather that can work remains to be seen - as pointed out - there are lot of variables here. But there are also a lot of angry people struggling with poverty pay, long term unemployment and outright destitution - and they are not going to go away. In such a situation a small whiff of hope can be explosive.