Activist and Citizen Political Repertoire in Spain: A Reflection Based on Civil Society Theory and Different Logics of Political Participation

Abstract

Citizen participation in Spain has significantly increased, and its repertoire has broadened as a result of the 15M Movement. From assemblies and acampadas (occupations) to the current proliferation of new political parties, there has been constant movement through a wide range of techno-political actions and experimentation with means and political tools used by civil society and activists. This article aims to reflect on this complex and novel political repertoire from a theoretical framework of civil society. This framework is complemented with the differentiation of (horizontal versus vertical) political logics used in social movement studies.

Key Words:

• Civil society
• Spain
• political repertoire
• political logics

Acknowledgements

Ramón A. Feenstra is member of the research project FI2013-47136-C2-2-P funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Since 2009, surveys from the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Sociological Research Centre, CIS), have noted a steady discrediting of the political class. During this period, the quality of political leadership and political parties has become the third greatest concern among citizens and, since July 2013, the constant proliferation of scandals has put corruption as the public's second greatest concern. Information retrieved from http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/ES/11_barometros/indicadores.html

2 The reach of the economic crisis in Spain was highlighted in a 2014 Fundación Fomento de Estudios Sociales y de Sociología Aplicada (FOESSA) (Caritas) report, which concluded that 11.7 million (of 46 million people) in Spain suffer from social exclusion. At the same time, the level of child poverty reached 36.3% (Fundación FOESSA, 2014).

Another key report on the level of poverty in Spain has been developed by Cruz Roja (2014).

3 In the process of writing this article, the author has consulted diverse sources of information and opinion polls. Particularly significant are the reports and data collected from CIS, Eurobarometer, DatAnalysis15M, IGOPnet, Human Watch Reports, Rigths International Spain, FOESSA (Caritas), Cruz Roja, and GfK group.

4 Among some of the most relevant actors linked to 15M we can differentiate the following: In their origins: No Les Votes, Juventud sin Futuro, Democracia Real Ya, PAH; in their new monitoring mechanisms: Qué hacen los diputados, Cuentas Claras, Civio.org, or Sueldos Públicos; in terms of new political parties: Podemos, Partido X, Guanyem Barcelona (and the mainfold ‘Ganemos’ across Spain, Málaga, Madrid, Zararoza, Castellón, etc.); in the action groups: Iai@flautas and the multiple Mareas. A much wider description of 15M actors is available at http://wiki.15m.cc/wiki/Portada

5 Habermas's interpretation of participation as deliberation is developed by Seckinelgin for a special issue in the Journal of Civil Society, ‘European Social Space or Europe's Social Spaces?’ (p. 269)—An analysis of the limitations for newcomers to make their voices heard (Seckinelgin, 2012).

6 This initiative began gathering information on the case with the collaboration of Internet users. A legal court case eventually resulted. The case cost around 15,000€; an appeal through a crowdfunding campaign raised 18,359€ in less than 24 hours from 965 donations, and, within days, a complaint was filed. Information retrieved from http://15mparato.wordpress.com/

7 Human Rights Watch research has revealed the lack of attention towards Spanish housing problems. A recent report concludes that ‘neither the central government nor parliament has conducted any in-depth inquiry into banking practices with respect to mortgages, or into the role of intermediaries such as real estate agencies’ (Human Rights Watch, 2014b).

8 In March 2013 the European Court of Justice considered Spanish laws too tough and contrary to the European Council Directive 93/13/ECC of April 1993. Court of Justice of the European Union Press Release No 30/13 (14 March 2013). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2013-03/cp130030en.pdf

9 See PAH website, http://afectadosporlahipoteca.com/

10 See escraches web campaign, http://escrache.afectadosporlahipoteca.com/

11 A high-profile escrache was held in front of the house of the Vice President, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria (5 April 2013). Despite complaints from relevant politicians in the government, the Court of Madrid (number 4) considered the escrache a ‘legal mechanism of democratic participation’ and an ‘expression of citizens’ pluralism’ (author's translation). See the judgement, http://ep00.epimg.net/descargables/2013/05/10/cb072919fb0bac890565b82873b2f89e.pdf

12 Between 2009 and 2010, the Spanish Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that 295 new political parties were registered. This doubled in the period of mobilization between 2011 and 2012, with 492 new parties created. Though a large percentage of these new parties operate only at local level, the figures show an extraordinary rate of new parties emerging since 2011. Information retrieved from https://servicio.mir.es/nfrontal/webpartido_politico.html

13 See http://mareaciudadanademadrid.blogspot.com.es/p/quienes-somos_19.html

14 A 2011 CIS Study on Opinions and Attitudes 71 (Font et al., 2012, pp. 88–90) shows a high level of distrust among Spaniards towards the political system and its main actors. According to this study, the lowest level of trust is towards the government (2.9 on a 10-point scale) and political parties (3.0). The most highly rated is the judiciary system (with just a value of 3.4). Font et al. (2012) Opinions and Attitudes 71. Retrieved June 3, 2015, from http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Publicaciones/OyA/OyA71a.pdf. GfK studies on confidence in various professions shows that Spain is the country (from a total of 25 countries around the world) with the least confidence in politicians: 5%. This is a 22-point fall from 2005 to 2013. See, GfK Verein (2014). The 2014 DatAnalysis Survey ‘#Encuesta15M2014’, led by Manuel Castells, concluded that for 88.9% of respondents, the motivation for participation in 15M protests was the lack of democracy in Spain (Castells, 2014).

15 On the 2013 Law on Public Safety, Rights International Spain (RIS) considered the Transparency Law a limitation of citizen participation (Rights International Spain, 2013).

Further Human Rights Watch concludes that the new Public Safety Law is ‘a direct threat to the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in Spain’ (Human Rights Watch, 2014).

16 Political disaffection is directed primarily at the two major political parties (PP and Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE)), which dominate Spanish politics. The CIS survey for October 2014 reported voting intentions at 27.5% for the PP and 23.9% for the PSOE, a total of 51.4% of all votes, down significantly from previous decades. These polls mirror changes in support for the two dominant Spanish parties: In the March 2008 general elections, 83.81% of all votes went to the PSOE and the PP (43.87% and 39.94%, respectively). This discrediting of the party duopoly benefits especially Podemos, a party that, less than one year into existence, reached a 22.5% intention to vote (CIS, 2014).