What is Acampadabcn

http://acampadadebarcelona.org/

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Foundation

On May 15th, a demonstration organized by people organized through the platform Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Now!) took thousands of people to the streets in 50 towns of Spain. This marches took place one week before government elections in Catalunya and its motto was "We are not merchandises in hands of politicians and bankers".

• http://www.democraciarealya.es

After the demonstration, 40 people decided to remain on the square of Puerta del Sol in Madrid starting the assembly and campment. They were removed by the police during the night and 18 people were detained, more people came back on the morning following day because of the spreading of the press and trow the social wares to ask for the liberation of the detaineds and follow the diaries assemblies, on next days, people did the same in Barcelona's Plaça de Catalunya, the 17, and progressivly in hundreds of cities and towns all around Spain.

Main developments

27M

On May, 27th, the police tried to evict the square, arguing security reasons because of the possible celebration of FC Barcelona's Champions League Victory on the following day. They argued they would only take material that could be dangerous if hooligans came. However they took everything including computers, foods, tents, etc. Thousands of people resisted and were beaten by the police http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7SlLuDTwkQ&feature=related

14-15J

On June, 15th, the catalan Parliament started the voting of the new budget that would include huge budget cuts in health care and education. Thousands of people slept the night before to try and stop it.

19J

We won't pay their crisis

Marches to Madrid

http://marchapopularindignada.wordpress.com/

Stop Desahucios (Stop foreclosures)

• http://afectadosporlahipoteca.wordpress.com/

This platform was created before the 15M movement to stop foreclosures but grew a lot with the 15M movement.

12M15M

Under the theme “#12m15m. El Poble som la solució” (#12m15m, People are the solution), Barcelona took to the streets on May 12th in a demonstration that began in Plaça Catalunya at 6pm, and where over 250,000 people marched through the city peacefully, in a light-hearted mood and without incidents or even a significant police presence. At 8pm the demo arrived back at Plaça Catalunya chanting “Esta es Nuestra Casa” (this is our home). At that very moment everything started to revive: The space had already the main stalls and other ones were added freely during the next couple of days: commissions, collectives, associations and so on: a year of 15M’s hard work! A massive Assembly was held to present the agenda of the coming days and to explain the methodology to follow. Then different groups of 15M could present their projects on which they had been working for a year, and the programme for the following days. At length came the time for the open micro. The 5 key themes that were processed in the following days had each their own spaces:

1. Not a single euro to further rescuing of banks
2. Quality public Education and Health care
3. No more work precariety and rejection of the labour reform
4. A guaranteed decent housing for everyone
5. A universal minimum income

The project “Fòrum dels pobles” aimed at turning the square into a space of open and participatory discussion on various topics of interest to citizens. The square was full of 15M activists, supporters and newcomers that came by to hear the talks and take part of the debates. On the morning of the 13th about two hundred people woke up in the square. Very soon all kinds of people began to arrive asking for the discussion forum or just to chat and discuss the current situation. Six assemblies worked in parallel: four discussions through the “forum dels Pobles” on the causes of the crisis, education, politics and Eurovegas and two talks on health and on feminism. At noon, after handing out the food prepared by the kitchen committee, there was a batucada and a poetry recital by the group “Bio-slow”. At 5pm a talk with members of the Audit of Debt and Arcadi Oliveres as a guest began in front of the BBVA Plaza Catalunya. Oliveres defended before a large audience the fair distribution of global wealth. After his speech, different members of Habaron Debt Audit warned of the dangers involved in debt and interest. At 6pm there was a crowded meeting of Neighbourhoods and Villages, where they put together all the work done throughout the year and discussed about coordination. The next meeting was agreed to be in Sant Vincenç dels Horts, outside Barcelona. The 13th May General Assembly began at 9pm with the reading of a manifesto supporting the squares evicted the previous night in other cities of Spain. The feminist groups, the PAH (Affected by Mortgage Platform), the Debt Audit, the neighbourhood assemblies, the Labor and basic income as well as the Unemployed group, and others who had been working during the day spoke in the Assembly. As a result, several calls for demos, reunions and actions during May were proposed. On May 14th, a workday, the square was nonetheless quite full and discussions and meetings were held starting at at 10:30 am. The afternoon talks were much busier, including the small town journalists from Cafè Amb Llet weekly, who have brought up a well-known Health scandal in Catalonia. The General Assembly at 9pm shared the results and impressions of the day of work. The last day – the 15M itself- was a day of actions! During the morning of May 15th a group of 15M activists asked to enter at RAC-1 and Catalunya Ràdio Studios, where they were allowed to read their manifesto (link below)

The specific street actions planned for 15M were a great success:

• “Rescate ciudadano en tu banco mas cercano” (Citizens’ Rescue in your nearest bank) was organized by the PAH (Affected by Mortgage Platform) and Auditoria Ciudadana de la Deuda (Citizen Debt Audit): People affected by mortgages and housing activists went to 4 banks asking for payment in kind while the auditors – in executive suits – read and explained the real situation of debt and crisis. The action achieved a success of participation with many supporters who are not usually in these actions, and the affected people obtained from the banks an appointment to discuss their situation.
• In the #misionPARS, organized by the PARS (Affected by Health Care Cuts Platform), 400 formal complaints were presented to the Prosecutor General’s Office. They were requesting legal investigations into the series of events occurring in the Catalan Health System due to the cuts. Their performance in front of the office was impressive: hundreds of activists layed down as dead people, saying “this is how they want us”, “Don’t look at us, join us”, “They are killing you as well”.
• To protest against education cuts, a picnic took place in front of the headquarters of PP (Popular Party, the right wing party governing Spain now).
• The action named #occupyMordor gathered thousands of people in front of the black towers of CaixaBank to perform a popular trial of the banks, who where found guilty for the current situation. Several people affected by the bank’s criminal behaviour testified, supported by their collectives: PAH, “Estafa Banca” (Bank Fraud ), Auditoria del Deute, PARS and so on.

In fact, #OccupyMordor became #acampacaixa, as many people decided to stay there and camp as form of protest. When the General Assambly in Plaça Catalunya finished, more people went off to “Mordor” saying that the actions haven’t finished on May 15th, so the 15M celebratiosn contiued in the bank disctrict and the area was occupied. During the day, instead of blocking the street as in other occasions, activists stayed on the wide pavements with signs of “Honk against the banks” and “Honk agaist Mordor”, and during the green traffic lights they passed among the cars to explain why they are there. The occupation lasted almost 36 hours before being evicted, and people have returned now to continue protesting. The whole “Mordor” idea has become quite catchy, and people are “supporting the hobbits” and saying they should be careful with the “orcs”, the riot police carefully watching the occupation. Occupy Mordor seems here to stay!

LINKS

Democracia Real Ya Press Release

• http://barcelona.democraciarealya.es/2012/04/19/comunicado-a-democracia-real-ya/

Manifesto supporting the squares evicted

• http://12m15m.acampadadebarcelona.org/esborrany-de-lacta-13052012 (CAT)

Program

• http://12m15m.acampadadebarcelona.org/12m-15m/programa-complet-del-12m15mbcn/

Twitter

• @12m15mbcn *@acampadabcn *@AcampadaMordor *@acampadabcn_int

FB page

• http://www.facebook.com/12m15mbcn

Forum dels Pobles blog

* http://forumdelspobles.wordpress.com/

PARS performance and PAH action pics

• http://t.co/Tekbe85R

Some of the hundrend of article on this issue:

• http://www.setmanaridirecta.info/noticia/les-indignades-omplen-passeig-gracia-fan-una-assemblea-permanent-placa-catalunya (CAT)
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18047618 (EN)
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/13/spain-protests-indignados-first-anniversary (EN)

Article on the reading of the manifesto at the radio

* http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/4011380/20120515/15-m-entra-estudis-catalunya-radio-rac-1-llegeix-manifest.html (CAT)

English version of the Manifesto

• http://es.scribd.com/doc/93886511/Untitled

Action

• http://asamblearaval.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/accions-15m-occupymordor/

occupymordor poster

• http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150958469869468&set=a.95298419467.108565.624064467&type=1&theater

occupymordor video 

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SxEHmSFrL4&sns=tw

PICS Galleries

• http://groundpress.org/;blog/ (general)
• http://groundpress.org/indignadoscaixa/

(#occupymordor)

• http://groundpress.org/15m-los-indignados-de-barcelona-pasan-a-la-accion/ (Acciones)* http://groundpress.org/el-movimiento-15m-se-prepara-para-su-aniversario/ (the square)

OccupyMordor

A VINDICATION WHERE IT HURTS THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM MOST On May 15th, 2012, as part of the actions of 12M15M, a group of people performed a popular trial on La Caixa Bank, at the door of their headquarters on Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona. In the trial, testimonies of those affected by La Caixa were collected, both those concerned with the Preference shares and the Platform of People Affected (PAH) by Mortgages. There were also some groups outlining where this entity invests and how it loans money. La Caixa was accused of:

1. Fooling working people, pensioners or unemployed with savings products (preference shares, subordinated debt and other “toxic” products).
2. Evicting thousands of people from their homes.
3. Investing in the arms industry.
4. Forgiving the debt of political parties in exchange for concessions, among other things.

The popular verdict was that La Caixa was guilty. A camp was set up that day in what has been called #occupymordor, remembering the evil axis described in the book The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. Despite the police eviction of the #occupymordor camp around 00:45 on May 17th, the action has carried on every day from 5pm to 8pm in the form of a potbanging called #caixarolada and a car horn called #pitódromo in front of La Caixa headquarters, followed by an assembly. On Thursday 17th senior managers from La Caixa called newspapers, radio and television stations in order to impose a media blackout on the action #occupymordor. La Caixa has withdrawn its advertising from those who had talked about #occupymordor. Some of the initiatives taken by #labancaesMordor assembly are: Write clear messages on the banknotes referring to the economically-financial dictatorship. Remove misleading advertising from banks existing in the streets. Involve drivers passing every day and honking in a more active way. Action #occupyMordor has ensured that drivers passing by the headquarters of La Caixa honking even if you have not started the potbanging. It has always been respected car traffic on the Diagonal. When the traffic light turns red are displayed banners referring to the abuses of La Caixa in particular and banking in general.

Structure

The General Assembly takes place monthly in Plaça de Catalunya. The movement has thematic committees and working groups as well as neighborhood assemblies:

Citizen Debt Audit Platform

• http://auditoriaciudadana.net/en/

The Citizen Debt Audit Platform (PACD) is working on auditing Spanish public debt and private debt that is being made public (eg. bank bailouts) with the aim of showing which part is it is illegitimate (and eventually standing for non payment of it) and pointing at those responsible of the so-named crisis that are pushing the governments into cuts and austerity policies. This platform is present in different territories in Spain and is linked up to an international coalition; the International Citizen Audit Network (ICAN), where 10 European countries and two North African are collaborating to build a common front against illegitimate debt and austerity measures (website will be available soon).

• Slogan: Don't owe, Won't pay.
• Contact: auditciudadana@gmail.com

Constituent Assembly working group

• http://poder-constituent.org/

Audiovisual Comittee

• http://15mbcn.tv/

Photo Working Group

• http://fotomovimiento15m.org/

Iaioflautas (elder activists)

• http://www.iaioflautas.org/
• http://www.iaioflautas.org

This is a group of elder activists who are part of the 15M movement in Barcelona and one of its most active groups. Their actions include occupying during weeks a public health center that the government wants to close, occupying a bus to protest against the huge price increase, organizing the protest against the labour market reform.

AgoraBcn

• http://agorabcn1.wordpress.com/

From the 7th July 2011, AgoraBCN remains active as an open space for debate, meeting and construction where everyone is welcome in the heart of Plaça de Catalunya of Barcelona. As such, AgoraBCN began on that same date and is the direct outcome of what emerged after the massive demonstration of the 15th May 2011. Following this, from the 16th May, a camp, the core axis of which was to serve as a setting to meet and discuss where all sorts of people could exchange opinions, was organized in Plaça de Catalunya. The Camp (Acampada, both in Catalan and Spanish) was extended to the 30th of June, the date on which it ended, after reaching an agreement to maintain an information point in Plaça de Catalunya. In the end this agreement wasn’t implemented but later, on the 7th July, the AgoraBCN activity started, thus giving visibility to everything that arose from the action of that day. Since then AgoraBCN have actively participated in the demonstrations taking place in the city. Also in the preparation of assemblies in the same square and 12M15M organization. On the anniversary of 15M emerged spontaneously an assembly in the space of AgoraBCN where gathered hundreds of people. The images of this assembly were streaming through the AgoraBCN channel (link below) and also other mobilizations where the group remain active.

LINKS

• Blog: https://agorabcn1.wordpress.com/
• Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/agorabcn/243182992366086
• Twitter: @_agorabcn
• Streaming: http://*bambuser.com/channel/agorabcn

Coordinadora Laboral

• http://coordinadoralaboral15m.wordpress.com/

Degrowth working group

• http://decreixementacampadabcn.wordpress.com/

Espai de coordinació

The assemblies of neighborhoods meet every month in Espai de coordinació.

• http://acampadadebarcelona.org/index.php/es/barris/barrios

Reforma del Sistema Electoral

• http://reformasistemaelectoral15m.blogspot.com

Other related groups

Plan de Rescate ciudadano

• http://www.planderescateciudadano.net/

The “Plan de rescate ciudadano” (Citizens’ rescue plan) was born from the 5 key themes that were processed during the 12M15M talks and think tanks. This plan has 5 clear objectives – as we can read on its web site:

• Rescue people, not banks
• Quality and free public Education and Health care
• No more work precariety and rejection of the recent labour reform
• A guaranteed decent housing for everyone
• Trasparency, network democracy and citizen freedom

“So, we know what we want. Now we are telling you how it is possible to do it, all of us together”. The intention of this plan is to link, support and strengthen all the collectives that are already successfully working on the achievement of those objectives.

Rurales Enredadxs

Rurales enREDadxs (Rurals Networked) is a collective of people, cooperatives and associations that promote projects of a social, eco sustanible and alternative way of life. Their aim is to connect and coordinate rural enviroment and cities, in order to integrate everyone in a human village through information, training, education and conciousness-raising.

More information

To follow the activities of 15M movement in Barcelona, you can also watch/follow:

• Live Streamings
• International Newsletter
• Local Twitter accounts
• Squares mailing list

See also

• Acampada Barcelona

External links

• INDIGNADOS 15M Producido por Josep Jover
• DOCUMENTAL DE LA SEXTA)
• ENTREVISTA CON JOSÉ LUIS SAMPEDRO- SPANISH REVOLUTION) ENG SUB
• DOCUMENTAL TELE 5
• RECOGIDA DOCUMENTOS Y VIDEO ACAMPADA - LA INFORMACIÓN
• DOCUMENTAL: CLAVES PARA ENTENDER EL MOVIMIENTO, ENG SUB
• DOCUMENTAL LARGO- LA INFORMACIÓN
• 30MINUTS-TV3-ESPECIAL
• VIDEO) ENG SUB
• REPORTAGE DETUSCH TV