English
On one hand, there is the will of a great part of the society to create a new system, and on the other, another major part has voted right wing –except in the Basque Country, where once again, they have given a lesson to justice in real democracy as the winning party, Bildu, at first was not allowed to run for the elections up until two weeks before but ended up winning the elections in most of the region.
How did we reach this situation?
- The mismanagement of the crisis by politicians -and notice that I do not say government, but politicians as, before such socio-economic debacle, don’t you think they should have joined forces to chalk it? While (most of) European countries put their efforts together to overcome the economic crisis, the Spanish politicians seem like kids in the school yard throwing dirt at each other.
- Corruption in high political and economic circles (and in medium and small circles, too.) This State, traditionally bandit, remains faithful to its political customs with more than 50 defendants who have been able to submit to the municipal elections (for more info: http://bukowski.lacoctelera.net/post/2011/05/20/espa-a-pol-ticos-imputados-corrupci-n-pueden)
- A two-party system of camouflaged democracy that contributes to a feedback circle to alternate terms of a stalled government, leaving little or no options for people who bet on a change in the system.
Just to get an idea of the absolute power of the banks, consider how the “Banco Santander” contributed to the current financial crisis and to sustain corrupt regimes.
This bank helped launder money from Equatorial Guinea´s President Teodor Obiang acting under national laws not to reveal the identity of its customers. For further information visit: http://www.soitu.es/soitu/2009/03/11/actualidad/1236786974_309498.html
Currently, 7 U.S. financial groups own 50% of the shares of this bank, so that American control is evident. Do we know who manages our money? Do we know what our capital is invested in, as sure as we are it is safe in our current accounts? I will tell you something: if we knew in whose hands it is and what it is used for, we would probably take it out from there to put it in an ethical bank, or under a tile.
How do Spanish mass media approach it?
So-so, tending to embarrassingly bad. To give an example, in the ranking of atrocities in the history of media, “journalist” César Vidal goes straight to No 2 (only beaten to the top spot by Alfredo Urdaci and his invented and most contradictory statement of the decade insisting on national Spanish television that the ETA was supporting 11M), launching the headline “The protesters have regular contact with ETA”.
And now, what’s next?
What is clear is that the next few days will be crucial to see if:
a) The people resist,
b) if the government, now that no longer fears losing more votes after the elections, decides to evacuate the protesters across the country and,
c) if so, to see how these protesters react. For the moment there is a demonstration approved in general assembly at the Plaza del Sol and Plaça Catalunya skeduled for the 19th of June under the slogan “real democracy now”.
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Is this a true people´s revolution? Will all these efforts and so much indignation be in vain? Will the politicians finally put in service of the citizens? Or they will stay in their luxury apartments in Madrid looking ahead to next demagogic strategy? If I were them, I would walk carefully, as this time the people seem to have said “we’ve gotten this far”.
Translated by: Maria
