The Petulant Revolution

The Petulant Revolution
larger | smaller
By Andrew Ferguson - Freelance Feature Writer - yossarian_f@hotmail.com - May 23, 2011 - 4:23 PM
What next for Los Indignados?

Supporters of the protestors in Tokyo - Photo EFE

In the weeks prior to Sunday's regional and municipal elections, the Internet was buzzing with rumours of 'spontaneous' mass demonstrations by the silent majority. Inspired by the grass-roots protests throughout the Islamic world, the politically switched-on Spanish youth planned to take to the streets to demand change. No-one, not even the organisers, knew how strong the malaise was, how deep it ran, or how many people would eventually turn up.

On the 15th May, they began to gather, adding to the usual crowds of shoppers and tourists in what is already the busiest square in Spain. The protesters gave themselves a name to identify with: Los Indignados (The Indignant). Their numbers began to swell, as more protesters turned up, and they were joined by the bored, the curious and, crucially, the media. Coverage mushroomed, and the international media latched onto it, re-branding it (perhaps rather dramatically and, I suspect, rather ironically). The Spanish Revolution was born. In reality, it resembled a massive sixth form political science project more than a revolution.

It was a kind of polite version of the Islamic revolutionary model. Islamic revolution lite. It would have been a feeble overnight sit-in followed by beers and pats on the back all round, but the timing saved it: the timing was a stroke of PR genius.

The regional authorities (a mix of both PP and PSOE) were snookered: unable to crack down and disperse the demonstrators for fear of bad press just before the elections. The Spanish media gratefully embraced a welcome alternative to insipid regional political rallies and meaningless sound bites from the various talking heads: here was action; here were – potentially at least – violent flash points. The Spanish media dispatched their youngest and most alternatively dressed journalism graduates on undercover missions to try to find out what these strange revolutionaries with their radical haircuts and their seditious facial hair wanted, and what they planned to do to get it.

Meanwhile, politicians attempted to ignore it all. Political parties were at a loss. Zapatero and Rajoy were visibly confused. What did they want? Whose side were they on? It was a game of political chess.

Eventually, the politicians were obliged to say something. One by one, they were wheeled out in front of the cameras, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Once there, they mumbled, with a characteristic lack of a sense of irony, tacit support for the protesters who were in fact, protesting against them.

So the protesters protested, the journalists waited and the politicians looked the other way as much as possible. And then, nothing happened.

The problem: Los Indignados had no clear target for their anger and resentment. They were each firing their own personal BB guns at the trundling ship of state. They stormed city centres around Spain and...well...moaned. They moaned a lot. It was a monumental display of petulance. From unemployment to the financial crisis. Political corruption to housing. From electoral procedure to the lack of political choice. Bank bail-outs to the IMF. From the price of cheese in April to the frequency of the number 17 bus on Sundays. OK, I made the last two up, but the list of gripes was seemingly endless. And woefully unfocussed.

PR-wise they did everything right: they were peaceful; they were well-behaved and clean; they set up crêches; offered early morning yoga classes; created food distribution points and located porta-potties; they self-policed. Mass, peaceful social movements have had some markedly successful precedents recently (Egypt) and historically (Martin Luther King's Million Man March, Ghandi's Indian Uprising,...). But, again, these non-violent revolutions had a clear, common enemy and a clear, common goal.

The Spanish Revolution was, however, little more than a gripe-fest and, because of this, it was doomed to fail. The fundamental failure of the would-be revolutionaries was that they arranged their protests before they clarified their demands. The protesters arrived angry about one or many aspects of life in modern Spain. When the thing took off, they hurriedly distributed suggestion boxes and held open mike gripe nights where loud hailers were passed among the crowd one by one so that everyone could voice their complaints. They then took a straw poll and announced their demands for change in descending order of popularity. It was democracy gone crazy: a caricature of committee-based legislation – they even voted on whether or not to vote!

In the end, even the least revolutionary suggestion of Los Indignados wasn't met. The two party system doesn't sufficiently represent the complexity of Spanish society. (In that, one suspects they are correct.) Their spokespeople suggested (very politely) that people not vote at all on the 21st May. This, they calculated, would send a firm and unmistakeable message to Spain's new political class that the common man (and woman) is unhappy with the choices presented. In reality, the number of people voting this year actually increased substantially (+2.3%) from the previous regional elections in 2007.

With even this futile display of indignation roundly ignored by the majority of Spanish voters, what the protesters do next will determine whether the whole thing peters out with a feeble fizz; or triggers real and lasting political change.

The cacophony of dissonant voices from Los Indignados appears to have quietened. They are no longer news-worthy unless they change tactics dramatically. The vast minority who spent 7 days sitting around their local city centre, dreaming of a new Spain will soon be forgotten unless they can learn to speak with one voice, and soon.

Andrew Ferguson is a freelance copywriter and writes a blog on Spanish culture.
You can contact him directly on yossarian_f@hotmail.com

Click here for related stories

mobile |

email this article | print

printer friendly page

More Editorial/Opinion

Readers' comments:
Please keep to the subject. Opinions published here are of our visitors, not the Typically Spanish team. Comments which go against Spanish laws or which are libellous are not allowed. We reserve the right to delete any comment we wish. Placing a comment indicates you have read our terms and conditions and privacy policy.

Por favor, céntrate en el tema. Son las opiniones de los internautas, y no las de Typically Spanish. No está permitido verter comentarios contrarios a las leyes españolas o injuriantes. Reservado el derecho a eliminar los comentarios que consideremos fuera de tema. Escribir un comentario indica que has leído nuestros condiciones de uso y politica de privacidad.