my first protest

managed to find my way to the first of what will likely be many protests this fall. this one comes in light  of the likely event that the conservative rajoy administration is on the cusp of unveiling a new budget plan rife with even more budget cuts and tax increases (the latter being something rajoy promised he wouldn't do and largely guaranteed his victory over socialist incumbent, zapatero) as it fears accepting more foreign bailouts. which is something that i can understand to an extent; after all, it's just more debt that they'll have to pay off with a currency that i believe is overvalued and on its way out. anyhow, the protests stem from what is known as the "occupy congress" movement, and are currently situated outside of spanish parliament. the deal, which i find interesting, is that if an individual leading a demonstration interrupts parliamentary business while it is in session, spanish law renders them susceptible to a year in jail. 

but a few questions on my behalf: if one is simply exercising their free speech, how could that ever qualify as an interruption, especially if that speech is directed toward those very individuals who are supposedly in office to protect it? after all, in terms of legislative authority it's fairly impolitic for a government to grant or deny rights based on matters of convenience or political expediency. further, if a parliament's "business" is essentially doing nothing, then how is it possible for an interruption to occur in the first place? if anything, wouldn't it be more of a catalyst?

nevertheless, interesting times. i want to go back later and talk to people participating. i went today with a girl named anna who is odd, liberal and the child of a linguist and a poet. was finally able to gush about politics with someone and i'm fairly certain we'll be good friends. some photos below.

From what I understood, they were dressed as ghosts to represent how budget cuts and austerity as a whole will haunt Spain's economy in the future.

When I arrived, a man was criticizing the Rajoy administration from inside this van via a megaphone.  When I came back a couple hours later, the van -- and the man -- were gone. A rough translation of the top: "My life has been threatened for exercising my right to free speech."

Funny how people an ocean apart want the same things (ignore the Skype shit at the top right, that you probably didn't notice until i pointed it out)

Catalan for "When injustice is law, it is your duty to rebel." What I've enjoyed most from this initial experience is how, in spite of their very obvious differences and disagreements, people from all of Spain's autonomous regions have gathered in the capital to fight for things that they believe transcend petty nationalistic pride.