There’s a brilliant piece called A Democratic Revolution In Spain up at a-news right now from Barcelona anarchists involved in the massive protest encampments that are happening across Spain. It lays out the basics of what’s been happening, and touches briefly on the role of anarchists involved in the movement. I’m happy to hear it because I’ve been getting bits and pieces from my friend in Barcelona, but her English isn’t great and my Spanish is worse, so finding information about the struggle has been hard. And why is it that everywhere has to go into crazy revolt after I leave?

Barcelona, Wednesday night:

“Aquí comença la revolució!”

The revolution begins here, shouts the crowd on Plaça Catalunya. There’s maybe five thousand people, ten thousand people, mostly unknowns, mostly young, many older folks as well, no single aesthetic or political line. The plaça is full. They’re calling it “our Tahrir square,” and so far, they’re not entirely wrong in this claim. In 60 other cities throughout the Spanish state, people are gathering in their central squares, with easily over a hundred thousand people participating in total, and it’s only the third night.

[…]

What’s important is that we are here, on the fault line of social conflict, we’ve clearly taken sides, and we’re looking for allies, while not being (too) arrogant with those we consider enemies. Because at this stage there is still a difference between those who are reproducing what they know but still acting from their passion, and those who get paid to do it; a difference between the politicians (or voters) of tomorrow, and those of today.

Social war is society against the State, not us against society. We’re here, in our revolution, and it’s a shitty, unromantic thing, but we already knew this was the world we lived in. At the very least it constitutes a definitive rupture with the daily isolation, and that’s more than a starting point. The important thing is that we are here, ready to fight and ready to learn, struggling for total freedom, and unmasking recuperation wherever it rears its head.