Modern Democracy in Spain

In a democracy, the right to assemble and protest is integral to a healthy political society. In Spain, protesting is a common way people express their democratic rights and desires to create change in their political system. To a fault, Spain historically struggles with a political landscape that is path-dependent rooted in corruption and consolidated power. Therefore, the Spanish government today still detests many pro-democratic and power-sharing practices such as protesting. 15M, or the Indignados Movement (the outraged), presents the most significant case study of protesting in Spain to date. 15M’s journey is part of modern history and while they rattled western democracy, they soon lost their effectiveness in completing the Spanish Transition. 15M’s transition from an anti-hierarchical force into organized political parties lost its direction.

On the 15th of May in 2011, a group of 30 young people met in Madrid’s Plaza de Sol after organizing through social media by The Youth Without a Future Collective (Juventud Sin Futuro). Two days later, the group grew to 200 and in an encounter with the police, the sit-in garnered national attention and support. What began as 30 youth, grew into a month-long sit-in that inspired demonstrations in over 60 Spanish communities. 15M is a nonpartisan peaceful movement made up of Spaniards from all social classes advocating for a range of social, political, and economic reforms. 15-M, whether interpreted as the end or a part of the Transition, has a place in the history of the time between the late dictator Franco’s death and the national election of 1982. The internal transition from dictatorship to democracy permitted the Spanish government to deepen their political path dependency, or the increasing difficulty to change political structures over time. Path dependency is like a strong magnet pulling policy and government operations towards old tradition, for better or worse. In Spain, there are historical pulls towards corruption and negligence in the representation of the Spanish people in their government. 15M swims upstream against forces such as cohesive elites, bureaucracy, and repression. For example, the Popular Party, a modern conservative party, reacted to 15M’s demands with the Gag Law of 2015 (La Ley Mordaza). The law undermines freedom of expression towards political life by establishing information, assembly, and demonstration, as new crimes. The conservative reaction to 15M proves their disruption within their political landscape, despite results not leading to desired changes. As much progress as 15M made against path dependency by normalizing accountability of officials on charges of corruption, they’ve also faced forces of structure.

15M’s significance as a modern movement takes root in their rejection of definite leadership and definite collectivism. 15M took shape during the economic crisis of 2008 when deficiencies like corruption and reductions in government services were exposed and faced no democratic recourse. After a series of demonstrations, actions, initiatives, and campaigns in 2011, 15M’s participants dispersed and brought activism to their communities. This process of decentralization mobilized regional activists to protest a range of issues such as housing evictions, working groups, public education, the public health system, and unions. Rapidly, support grew and the inclusive and accessible nature of 15M flourished around the country. The 15M soon empowered the formation of new political parties and groups who label themselves as “parties for change” such as Podemos, Ahora Madrid, Barcelona en Comú, la marea Atlántica, Democracia Real Ya, Movimiento por la Democracia (MPD), and Zaragoza en Común.

However, the 15M’s organization into parties is arguably a political compromise, not a success. Being a launchpad for political parties pushes aside 15M’s original values. As Mirta Núñez Díaz-Balart, an expert on the Spanish press during the Civil War, points out, “(15-M) was an expression from the left, but it took place outside the traditional parties.” Mirta suggests 15M should be understood outside of political party organization. In addition, Pablo Prieto, a spokesperson for 15M recalls the first wave of 15M energy, “​​There are

no leaders, no hierarchy at all, and we believe that’s the way democracy should work.” In an effort to materialize their efforts, 15M manifested their energy into structured political parties. This is not to say the parties aren’t successes on their own, since candidates from these parties have reached mayoral offices in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​V

alencia, Cádiz, Zaragoza, and Coruña. Additionally, the parties advocate for liberal policies such as public housing, public services, stopping privatization of public services like health, and promoting environmental practices. While the parties are promoting democracy, social rights, and serving the general public with praised ethics and transparency, they stifled 15M’s revolutionary energy and beliefs. By forming parties, 15M’s energy became subject to path dependent forces and in some cases reverted to corruption. For example, in 2020, a court in Madrid called upon Podemos for a trial on charges of corruption and financial falsities. Further, in an interview with editor, writer, and activist, Amador Fernandez-Savater, he expresses disapproval for 15M’s conventional organization. Savater says:

I think there is a problem of social imaginati

on here: we only see politics and effectiveness where there is a traditional format, with a leader who fights for power. 15M was undervalued and turned into something else, something very different if not the opposite of what it was; and it was then that it lost its strength, it lost the energy that was inherent to it.

Savater explains these events as a result of the internal transition from dictatorship to democracy which he refers to as “deterred democracy.” Sa

vater credits 15M for inspiring change but acknowledges they will not be the ones to complete the Spanish Transition.

Internationally, 15-M also inspired other protests to utilize “occupy” tactics like sit-in protests. Examples include London’s St. Paul Cathedral and New York’s “Occupy Wallstreet ''' movement. To expand, Occupy Wall Street took place in September of 2011 to protest similar issues as 15-M such as austerity, economic inequality, and corrupt politics influenced by money. Occupy Wall Street is criticized similarly to 15-M for its short-lived and questionable results. Occupy Wall Street lasted 59 days and many feel the movement fell short of its goals to question the financial industry. Micah White, an editor at the activist magazine Adbusters, concluded Occupy was “a constructive failure because the movement revealed und

erlying flaws in dominant and still prevalent theories of how to achieve social change through collective action.” Similar to Savater’s analysis of 15M, Occupy Wall Street lost its momentum and never returned to full strength because of the organization. One must wonder what the missing ingredient is to sustain these occupy movements.

In all, the 15M movement embodies the political spirit of Spanish youth: fierce, persistent, and demanding. 15M holds significance in the history of Spanish politics because they introduced the idea of questioning authorities and the Tr

ansition. Movements like 15M, and similar movements, define modern politics because they keep democratic governments responsible for responding to their people. Without 15M eroded trust would lead to the demise of an entire political system. 15M hopes to have a timeless significance and live on through mottos such as “We have been and will be again.” Despite their continuous search for tangible changes, 15-M must be recognized for their contributions to re-designing Spain’s modern political landscape, furthering the Transition, mobilizing 3rd parties, forcing defensive policies, and de-legitimizing elites. To date, 15M evokes a strong response from its followers and opposers, and over time the Spanish may hope to harness this energy to complete the Transition.

Bibliography:

Anderson, James A. “How Occupy Wall Street Changed Us, 10 Years Later.” Time, Time, 15 Nov. 2021, https://time.com/6117696/occupy-wall-street-10-years-later/.

Álvarez-Benavides, Antonio. “15M's Social and Political Effects in Spain.” OpenDemocracy, 31 Oct. 2018, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/15ms-social-and-political-effects-in-spain/.

Bieschke, Marke. “Remembering Spain's 15-M Movement, Occupy's Scrappy Precursor.”, https://48hills.org/2021/09/remembering-spains-15-m-movement-occupys-scrappy-precursor/ .

Castro, Nazaret. “Amador Fernández-Savater: ‘Spain's 15m Movement Was Undervalued and Turned into Something Else; It Was Then That It Lost the Energy That Was Inherent to It.’” Equal Times, https://www.equaltimes.org/amador-fernandez-savater-spain-s?lang=en.

“Youth Unemployment.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sep. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_unemployment.

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