The ´Stop Evictions' campaign in Zaragoza has been extremely active in the past few months since my last blog, gaining in strength and notching up significant successes.
I wrote about a large demonstration and recent developments with the anti-evictions campaign for the UK National Shop Stewards Network Bulletin, as you can see on the news stories section of this website.
Since then the campaign has gathered more momentum, lobbying outside the house of the local Popular Party leader, Eloy Suarez on April 9th.
Yesterday the spokesperson for the `Stop Evictions' campaign Pablo Hijar received through the post a fine for 1,500 euros for leading this protest while the other 50 demonstrators all received fines of 200 euros each. Many of these are people under threat of eviction, or who have already lost their homes and therefore in huge amounts of debt already.
Left Unity (Izquierda Unidad), the Communist Party and various collectives have denounced these acts as "criminalisation" of protest.
The Stop Evictions campaign, with its slogan "yes,we can" have responded by calling another direct-action-style protest (known in Spanish as escrache) outside the Headquarters of the PP on Gran Via, Zaragoza on May 6th at 7pm.
This is not the only incidence of criminalisation of protest since the coming to power of the PP. Five protesters with the 'Green Wave' (Marea Verde) are waiting for their cases after being charged for participating in a protest outside the home of the Regional Education Secretary,Dolores Serrat in protest at major cuts in subsides for school dinners this school year (see my article under features for background info). Their crime? hanging tupperware boxes from a lamppost as part of a peaceful, symbolic protest. The five were a teacher, a dinner-lady, two students and a photographer.
All this has been reported widely in the Aragon press. Many people will be watching to see how the police react on Monday night. Watch this space.
I wrote about a large demonstration and recent developments with the anti-evictions campaign for the UK National Shop Stewards Network Bulletin, as you can see on the news stories section of this website.
Since then the campaign has gathered more momentum, lobbying outside the house of the local Popular Party leader, Eloy Suarez on April 9th.
Yesterday the spokesperson for the `Stop Evictions' campaign Pablo Hijar received through the post a fine for 1,500 euros for leading this protest while the other 50 demonstrators all received fines of 200 euros each. Many of these are people under threat of eviction, or who have already lost their homes and therefore in huge amounts of debt already.
Left Unity (Izquierda Unidad), the Communist Party and various collectives have denounced these acts as "criminalisation" of protest.
The Stop Evictions campaign, with its slogan "yes,we can" have responded by calling another direct-action-style protest (known in Spanish as escrache) outside the Headquarters of the PP on Gran Via, Zaragoza on May 6th at 7pm.
This is not the only incidence of criminalisation of protest since the coming to power of the PP. Five protesters with the 'Green Wave' (Marea Verde) are waiting for their cases after being charged for participating in a protest outside the home of the Regional Education Secretary,Dolores Serrat in protest at major cuts in subsides for school dinners this school year (see my article under features for background info). Their crime? hanging tupperware boxes from a lamppost as part of a peaceful, symbolic protest. The five were a teacher, a dinner-lady, two students and a photographer.
All this has been reported widely in the Aragon press. Many people will be watching to see how the police react on Monday night. Watch this space.