Sunday, July 24, 2011

Indignados re-occupy Puerta del Sol

By Jérôme E. Roos
July 24, 2011

Post image for Indignados re-occupy Puerta del Sol
Yesterday, the popular marches of the indignant arrived in Madrid — and took back the square. Another major demonstration is planned for today.

On Saturday, the indignados brought much of Madrid to a standstill as the popular marches arrived in the city, taking six different routes from all over the country and culminating in a spectacular re-occupation of Puerta del Sol by tens of thousands of protesters.

And so, a month and a half after the original protest camp was broken down, Sol looks like Sol again. With an incredible degree of professionalism, the indignados set up a TV and radio studio, a communications center, a major kitchen, a sound installation, a clinic and more — all in one night.

Some of the marchers had been walking for over 500 kilometers as part of a campaign to spread awareness about the 15-M movement and its demands to the Spanish countryside and to hold popular assemblies with people who otherwise have little opportunity to participate given their geographic location.

The marches received a warm welcome from thousands of indignados and sympathizers as they arrived in Puerta del Sol from six different angles. In the evening, a major popular assembly was held which was closed off with live music. Today, tens of thousands are expected to take to the streets again for a major march through Madrid.

Also, in a sign that the movement is rapidly maturing into a serious platform for civic engagement and political activism, the 15-M movement has scheduled it’s first Social Forum for Monday.

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