Spain’s health workers: No cutbacks!

Scan page 5

MADRID—“Health care is not to be sold, it is to be defended!” demanded the lead banner that thousands of health-care workers marched behind in on Jan. 7. These health-care workers are known as the “Marea Blanca” or “White Tide” because of the white lab coats many wear during the protests. They are the voice of opposition to the planned privatization of the present health system in Madrid.

Spain consists of 17 autonomous regions, which are now having difficulty borrowing money following the economic crisis of 2008. The crisis was caused by preda­ tory lending in real estate and wild speculative gambles in the financial sector. Furthermore, the Spanish state has assisted the U.S. in an unjust war in Afghanistan to the tune of 3.5 billion euros. The capitalist class, which caused the crisis, is now demanding that the working class make concessions in housing, education, jobs, and health care.

Health-care workers are standing up and saying, “No more concessions!” Many feel as though this is just the beginning of the move to a much larger privatization. The Washington Post reports, “The region of Madrid proposes selling the management of six of 20 large pub­ lic hospitals in its territory and 27 of 268 health centers.” The planned privatization of Madrid’s hospitals and auxiliary health centers spells disaster for the working class. Closing hospital facilities means longer waits for medical attention and an overall lesser quality of care. Already, massive unemployment and housing evictions are stretching Spanish workers to the limit psychologi­ cally and physically, which is evident by the rising sui­ cide rates of the past year.

The Marea Blanca organized by the group Sanidad en Lucha has been in the streets for months, including a two-day strike in November as well as an unsuccessful attempt to win over elected officials through a massive petitioning effort, in which they collected over 1 million signatures.

Therefore, all recognize the need for continued mobi­ lizations, strikes, and other actions. The Jan. 7 action, which started in Madrid’s Neptune Plaza and ended in the Puerta del Sol, was filled with determination to continue the fight for their human right to good quality health care. The majority has spoken, and it will be dif­ ficult for the Spanish state to turn back this rising tide. Political propaganda SALAMANCA—Stickers, like politically charged graffiti, have played a dynamic role in reaching the masses with important messages. In Spain one can still see, stuck to drainpipes and street signs, calls to mobilize for the Nov. 14, 2012, general strike against austerity. This tradition has a long history in Spain, and currently the Center of Historical Memory in Salamanca has an exhibition of political stickers from 1976 to 1982. The display examines political propaganda from the tran­ sition period between the end of the Franco regime to the consolidation of the social democracy and continu­ ation of capitalist rule. The exhibition represents a wide range of movements—nationalist, feminist, socialist, anarchist, and workers’—that emerged full force as the stranglehold of the Franco regime loosened. This exhibition appears at time when the global eco­ nomic crisis, caused by the anarchic system of capital­ ism, has hit Spain hard. Official unemployment is nearly 25%. For youth ages 15-24, the official unemployment number is 37.7%.

The Spanish state, a constitutional monarchy, is gov­ erned mostly today by the People’s Party (PP) and the Spanish Socialist Party (POSE). Since the crisis began, both of these parties have laid down the gauntlet of austerity onto the heads of Spanish workers. Austerity, meted out by the “Troika”—the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Cen­ tral Bank—continues to threaten Spanish workers with deeper hardships.

Home evictions As if unemployment weren’t bad enough, a massive wave of home evictions is well underway in Spain. While 1 million homes currently go unoccupied, evictions con­ tinue at a staggering rate. Reuters reports, “Some 50,000 Spaniards were kicked out of their homes in the first half of 2012.”

People are horrified by the fact that more than 100 owners and renters committed suicide after being forced out of their homes in 2012, some jumping to their deaths from the windows of their apartments. Nearly every country in southern Europe facing austerity has seen dramatic spikes in the rates of suicides. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reports a 52% jump in Italy and 40% jump in Greece.

These stories have led to a massive public outcry. Many feel as though these are not suicides but murder.

Andres Kucacki / AP They demand that everyone have a roof over their head at a fair price. Newspapers in Spain are also reporting that locksmiths are refusing to help the landlords and the state in the eviction process.

Crackdown on civil liberties The Spanish state is beginning to come down hard on activists in the anti-austerity movement. Two nota­ ble cases include Alfonso Fernandez and Twitterista @ Almu_en_Lucha.

Alfonso or “Alfon,” a 21-year-old from Madrid, was on his way to a picket line during the Nov. 14 gener­ al strike when he and his girlfriend were arrested. The judge sentenced Alfon to preventative detention, claim­ ing he was potentially too dangerous to be released to the public. This charge stems from police accusations that Alfon was carrying a bag of gasoline to the picket line. Alfon maintains that the accusations are not true. The Spanish people have responded to these draconian measures with an “Alfon Libertad” movement, which has been manifested both in the Twitterverse (#Alfon­ Libertad) and on the streets of the Spanish state. “Alfon Libertad” graffiti is scrawled on the walls in many places as a reminder that an injury to one is an injury to all. Nearly nine weeks later, at the time of this writing, Alfon remains in jail and the struggle continues. Journalist Almundena Montero (@Almu_en_Lucha) has been called in for questioning before the national police for her posts on Twitter. Izquierda Anticapitalista reported that police claim @Almu_en_Lucha is inciting violence by posting quotes of 1920s Italian communist Antonio Gramsci on her Twitter account. n