Madrid Anti Police Repression Protest Called Off Due To Police Repression

An ironic TWEET came across my feed today from the Indignados @AcampadaSol account:

Rough translation: police shut down the anti-police repression protest scheduled for today in Madrid with a little repression and a lot of intimidation.  The Indignados had organized the event through social media under the hashtag #30jSinMiedo (June 30th without fear).  The TWEET above tells us that the protest had to be called off at the last moment due to the police demanding IDs, surrounding the protestors, and warning of "serious consequences".  If today's protestors have the same luck as those Indignados who have been IDed by police over the past several months, they can expect a court summons and 300-Euro fine, usually either for "attending an illegal protest" or "challenging the authorities".

And if today's Madrid protest is not all the Spanish irony you require for one weekend, just last night 30 people who have been evicted or are facing eviction, sought shelter in the cathedral of Madrid La Almudena, some with small children.  The families, children and protestors were soon met by the church Rector "to negotiate", but within a couple hours he decided to have the police handle the situation.  Let us say that Christians around the world should be grateful that Marie and Joseph looked for refuge in a dirty stable in Bethlehem rather than an opulent Roman Catholic cathedral in the Spanish capital.  #OccupyAlmudena was soon trending in Spain, complete with photos of children being held against the wall and peaceful protestors being forced to their knees while placing their hands behind their heads.

Here is a video I shot last night at La Almudena protest.  A Spanish woman reminds the cops that they are 99%ers too! (That's our beautiful Madrid cathedral there in the background)

Eviction Notices for the Bankers, Bailout for the Citizens

LaVanguardia.com is reporting that 3,000 protestors marched in Madrid, Spain yesterday from the Cuatro Caminos neighborhood to the Plaza de Castilla to make their displeasure with the BANKIA rescue package known.  The Indignados noisily reminded the public that 23 billion euros has already been promised to the failing financial institution, even though it has been accused of having falsified its accounts last year in the run-up to its IPO.  You can read the original article from La Vanguardia (in Spanish) here:

From the article...

Madrid. (EFECOM).- Más de 3.000 personas se han concentrado hoy ante la sede principal de Bankia en Madrid para protestar contra "la inyección de más de 23.000 millones de dinero público" en la entidad, tras una marcha pacífica que se ha saldado con un detenido.

Madrid. (EFECOM).- More than 3,000 people gathered today at the central headquarters of Bankia in Madrid to protest against "the injection of more than 23 billion in public money" into the institution, after a peaceful march in which there was one detention.

The Indignados have brought charges against the former BANKIA president (private prosecutions are permitted in Spain if the D.A. declines to bring charges of his own), after it was revealed that 2011 actually saw a 2.979 billion Euro loss, rather than the profit that BANKIA had previously claimed on the books.  And as if to add insult to injury, BANKIA accepted 4.5 billion Euros in government funds back in 2010, and has yet to pay any of it back.

So when will the misery end, and how to get out of the crisis?  This week the International Monetary Fund offered Spain some advice of its own -- increase taxes!  In this article the IMF suggests that Spain needs to raise its sales tax to cut the deficit -- a sales tax that currently stands at 18%. 

Every day, Indignados along with more and more ordinary Spaniards, are asking the banks and international organizations, "what more do you want from us, and when is it going to be enough for you?"

Students Fined for Seeking Student Loan Info at BANKIA HQ in Huelva, Spain

HUELVA24.com is reporting that around 100 students were surrounded by police, ID'ed, and in some cases given fines, simply for going inside a bank to ask for information about student loans.  Jesús Díaz of HUELVA24.com reports that the government is denying that any fines were given.

11.39 h. Alrededor de un centenar de universitarios han acudido a primera hora de la mañana a la oficina central de Bankia en la plaza de las Monjas para informarse sobre los préstamos que ofrece la entidad bancaria. La Policía se ha presentado en el banco minutos después de que el local quedase colapsado por estudiantes, muchos de los cuales fueron identificados por los agentes. Según declararon algunos de los participantes en la protesta, los agentes "han estado multando por alteración al orden público", un extremo que ha sido negado categóricamente por la Subdelegación del Gobierno.

11:39 am  Around one hundred university students turned up at the BANKIA headquarters in the Plaza de las Monjas at opening time this morning to ask for information about student loans that the financial institution has on offer.  The police arrived at the bank a few minutes after the central offices were overwhelmed by students, many of whom were asked to produce identification by the officers.  According to several of the protestors, the police officers were giving fines for "public disorder" -- a charge that a local government official categorically denied.

You can read the full version of the article (in Spanish) here:

Dear Mr. de Guindos, I don't think you have convinced the international press

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, so we will keep this post short.  Today, Spain finally reversed course and announced what everybody knew was going to happen all along -- that Spain would be needing an economic lifeline, if it is to survive.  However, Spanish Minister of the Economy Luis de Guindos, in typical Spanish political Orwellian fashion, engaged in double speak when the announcement was made this afternoon.

Mr. de Guindos actually managed to keep a straight face when he announced the EU "aid" package by saying, "Se pide apoyo financiero, esto no tiene absolutamente nada que ver con un rescate."

("Financial support has been requested, this in absolutely no way is a bailout.")


The international press didn't buy it Mr. Guindos, does the Spanish government really think its citizens are that stupid?

Espanol: ayuda
English: help, assistance, aid

Espanol: rescate
English: bailout, rescue

 

Spanish Bank Served Eviction Notice

Today's edition of PUBLICO, an online Spanish newspaper, has announced that the Spanish people will be giving their masters a taste of their own medicine.  Since BANKIA is completely insolvent and can only survive on charity and welfare, the citizens of Spain have instead decided to evict.

Here is an English translation of the PUBLICO story.  You can find the original (in Spanish) here:

La Ciudadania se Prepara para Desahuciar a BANKIA