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In its Desperation, Scandal-Riddled Spanish Government Criminalizes Solidarity Among Citizens

March 15, 2015

In its Desperation, Scandal-Riddled Spanish Government Criminalizes Solidarity Among Citizens

On Tuesday, March 10, 19 Spanish citizens were rounded up in dawn raids by the Madrid police. They are accused of committing a crime against the Spanish state. That crime? Trying to prevent, through passive, non-violent resistance, the forced eviction of a local resident. If found guilty, the suspects could face crippling fines.

Welcome to Rajoy’s Spain, where helping out your neighbor in his or her hour of need is now an administrative crime.

A Not-So-Silent Tragedy

In most countries that have experienced foreclosure epidemics, the eviction of neighbors and local residents is usually a quiet, if not silent, tragedy. Often people don’t realize that their neighbors have gone until hours, days or even weeks have passed. Some may never even notice.

In Spain, however, things are different. In recent years foreclosures have become a very explosive public affair, sometimes drawing the participation and attention of scores or even hundreds of people. When a local resident is threatened with eviction word quickly gets out and groups of neighbors and social activists begin forming and offering their support. By the time police officers arrive there is an almost impenetrable wall of protestors between them and the front door of the property to be foreclosed. [To get an idea of what this looks like, enter “desauhicios” + “españa” in Youtube’s search engine; I can’t add the links here because providing links to images of police officers going about their business is now a chargeable offense in Spain].

 

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Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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