Spain’s “Indignants” Move Beyond Protests To Providing Food Aid For Needy
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The Spanish “indignant” movement, which began a year ago to protest economic inequality and spending cuts, have expanded their operations to include the creation of food banks for the poor, reported AFP on Thursday, as the activists attempt to shift their focus from simply protesting to building the just society that it advocates.
The Spanish “indignant” movement, which began a year ago to protest economic inequality and spending cuts, have expanded their operations to include the creation of food banks for the poor, reported AFP on Thursday, as the activists attempt to shift their focus from simply protesting to building the just society that it advocates.
“We are trying to create a more sustainable and fairer economy,” said “indignant” activist Diego Gutierrez, while loading a bag of potatoes donated by a Romanian couple’s vegetable shop onto a van.
Along with acquiring donations to hand out to the needy, the “indignants” have also set up neighbourhood associations or cooperatives, ” where people can exchange favours for food or services.
[quote]“These types of initiatives will continue to expand in the coming years because people see that our economic system does not work,” said Arturo de Bonis, 55, a former World Bank project manager in Africa who helped set up the “synergy cooperative”, which offers services like plumbing and painting provided by the jobless.[/quote]de Bonis added that the “indignant” protest movement chose to evolve its operations after many activists realised that “protests alone were not changing things.”
The shift in the protest movement focuses also appears to have gained sympathy with the Spanish public, with 78 percent of citizens polled by Metroscopia last month indicating that they believed the “indignant” protesters “are right.”
During the first anniversary of the movement’s founding on May 15th last month, thousands of people also packed into Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square to commemorate the event and protest against the recent spate of austerity policies announced by the government.
“No, they (the government) don’t represent us,” shouted some protestors, as cited by Sky News, as they banged pots and pans and clapped their hands at the event.
[quote]“The May 15th Movement has a long way to go – we’ve already done a lot and this is only the beginning. There’s a lot left to do,” added Carlos Herga, a member of a group representing homeowners facing foreclosure, while collecting signatures for the movement.[/quote]Related: A Global Transcendence of Change – What The 99% Really Want: Joseph Stiglitz
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“Indignant” activists say that the goal of its extended initiatives, including food banks and cooperatives, were just as much as about strengthening ties among neighbours as it was about providing economic aid.
“Your neighbours start to be your friends. It’s fantastic,” said Isabel Perez, 47, a self-employed solar energy consultant and mother of two, who helps run a food bank in Usera.
