Spanish Revolution: Youth Drink from Arab Spring

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Tens of thousands of disenchanted and unemployed young Spaniards refused
to leave tent cities they raised over the week in plazas throughout the country, some are calling the growing youth movement a “Spanish Revolution” – spread via. Some commentators say the Arab Spring has arrived in Spain. Critics, meanwhile, call it an excuse for a big party. Regardless, the so-called 15-M movement, a reference to the day protesters occupied Plaza del Sol in Madrid, is calling for political and economic reform in Spain and has spread to 166 Spanish cities and to other parts of Europe. Similar plaza takeovers have been organized through online social networks for Friday in at least 10 Italian cities.

Two earthquakes have shaken Spanish political life in the past week. First were the massive sit-ins that had tens of thousands of citizens camping out in the public squares of major cities, in Barcelona the police had a violent reaction, in protest of the country's capsized economy and unresponsive political class. The second came last night, when voters in regional and municipal elections delivered a sound drubbing to the governing Socialist Party (PSOE). Now, in Monday's harsh light, no one seems sure whether the first phenomenon had anything to do with the second. And everyone is wondering what both mean for the future of Spain.

“I’m here against the system, against everything, the banks, the government, the Popular Party, unemployment. You name it. Nothing works,” says a journalism student in Puerta del Sol. “It’s against a two-party system. And my goal is to feel represented. I want politicians to know they are not listening,” she says. “I’ll stay here as long as I have to.” At more than 21 percent, Spain has Europe’s highest unemployment rate and is also suffering from its worst economic crisis in decades, compounded by a series of draconian austerity measures. One of every two people of working age under 25 is jobless in Spain. They are dubbed “the lost generation.” Young Spaniards are fleeing to other European capitals to find work. Experts, though, say this movement is not just about work, but about feeling alienated and misrepresented.

Protesters have been camping out in the capital's main square for days. Volunteers set up food and medical tents, adorned with homemade revolution posters. Someone pinned an Egyptian flag up overhead. Thousands of demonstrators are occupying squares in major cities across Spain, protesting high unemployment and lack of opportunities for youth, ahead of municipal elections on Sunday. Many of them say they've been inspired by similar protests across the Arab world that started from Tunisia.