Spain: A day with "Outraged" of Madrid youth

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All eyes have been on the Spanish capital’s iconic Puerta del Sol square since a May 15 demonstration against political corruption and economic hardship turned into a permanent occupation. Up to 60,000 protesters filled the square last weekend as Spain’s ruling Socialist Party lost to the conservatives in several local elections.

The sprawling encampment, made up of colourful tents, tarpaulins, battered mattresses and sofas, has kept on spreading despite a lower turnout for nightly rallies. Since then, a number of commissions dedicated to tackling infrastructure, communications, logistics and legal matters have sprung out of the early organisational chaos. The leaderless movement has set up an impressive system to cater to the weary protesters’ every need, from providing food and drinks to sun creams and foot massages.

24 hours with Madrid’s ‘Indignant’ youths21H49: Overview of the Madrid protest camp in Puerta del Sol as protesters hold their nightly rally. Many participants work during the day, but the crowd swells in the evening. 23H09: Activists participate in the daily general assembly. Its key principle of unanimous decision-making ensures debates until late into the night.23H21: There will be little sleep for the hundreds of youths who spend the night at the protest camp. Christian and Karina (both 21-year-old students from Bogota, Colombia) join their 18-year-old friend Rosa from Madrid for intense political discussion.23H35: Protesters have set up commissions to deal with different aspects of the protest camp. Members from the legal commission, most of them law students, are holding a late meeting. Their main task is to provide legal advice to protesters.00H43: A Spanish activist (foreground) talks on Skype with a French activist (background). The Madrid protest camp hopes to inspire similar movements across Europe.02H25: Raul, 32, is reading an essay by Stephane Hessel, the title of which translates as "Time for Outrage!". This short essay by a French concentration camp survivor and resistance fighter has become a bestseller in both France and Spain. 02H57: A demonstrator shows a "No Beer" sign at the Madrid protest camp, urging campers to avoid excess drinking. Protesters are keen to portray their movement as a serious political contender and not an improvised party. 03H36: Most protesters eventually get some sleep, even without a tent or sleeping bag.08H32: The camp’s Infrastructure Commission lends blankets and sleeping bags to anyone asking for them, but some protesters apparently prefer the comfort of a cardboard box. 09H11: Protesters read the morning news in daily papers provided for free by the makeshift camp library.09H18: Commuters exiting the Sol metro station into the protest camp. Sol is one of the main interchanges in the Madrid subway system. 10H01: It’s rather hard to catch up with sleep in the morning, as the unforgiving Spanish sun turns tents and sleeping bags into furnaces.10H43: Inside one of the three tents where protesters collect and redistribute food donations. Ana, 19, was among the first demonstrators to storm Puerta del Sol square on May 15. She feels that Spain’s political system doesn’t represent her. 14H41: All types of activities slow down in the middle of the day as protesters take cover from the sun. Here a protester can be seen having a smoke in the Arts Commission tent. 15H05: Two Spanish girls are making a banner in the name of the “15M” movement, referring to the date when youths spontaneously stormed Madrid's main square. Making these banners is one of the main tasks of the Arts Commission.20H07: As the sun goes down, the rally starts to pick up steam. Dozens of protesters leave the Puerta del Sol camp to walk toward the Spanish parliament to protest against the raising of the legal retirement age. 20H15: Protesters remain peaceful. When confronted by police, they shout slogans for 20 minutes before turning back and returning to the camp.20H23: A young woman shouting slogans against the raising of the legal retirement age. Despite their efforts to attract more middle-aged and elderly people, most of the protesters encamped at Puerta del Sol are under the age of 35.20H26: Unlike the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings, there have been no vicious police beatings of protesters. These police officers may have helmets, but they have none of the heavy equipment of their counterparts in the Arab world.20H46: Living in a makeshift camp doesn’t prevent some protesters from arranging a little, cosy, home-away-from-home.

Arab spring, European summer?

Has the democratic spirit embodied by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolts crossed the Mediterranean? Madrid’s “indignados” – the “indignant ones”, as they call themselves – are mostly young people infuriated by a lack of economic prospects and a political elite they consider out of touch. Just like their North African counterparts, the protesters use social media to coordinate their non-violent protests, including massive sit-ins and the permanent occupation of symbolic squares.

But the Madrid protest camp is not Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The Spanish youths’ anger against the system is more diffuse than the Egyptian wave of fury that swept Hosni Mubarak out of power. You won’t find a dummy corpse of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hanging from a lamp post in Puerta del Sol. The Spanish demands are more difficult to articulate, ranging from calls for specific electoral reforms to a pan-European rejection of government austerity plans.

There is no sign of the protesters coming under siege from regime forces, either. A few relaxed Spanish police officers stand guard in front of the old post office on the southern edge of the square – a stark contrast to the tense and ambiguous military presence in Cairo.

How to keep the momentum rolling

The non-confrontational atmosphere in Madrid has had a direct impact on the protesters’ motivation level, and organisers are trying hard to keep enthusiastic volunteers busy by setting up even more “commissions”.

The Art Commission provides materials for drawing and making banners, sometimes under a cloud of cannabis smoke. But there is no trace of marijuana in the improvised organic garden set up by protesters near one of the square’s fountains, where only legitimate vegetables are in evidence. A small library tent is packed every morning with people reading daily newspapers, provided free of charge. As for the enticingly named Espacio del Amor (Love Space), its main activities are tai chi and meditation sessions.

Our economic situation 'a disgrace' say young overqualified, underemployed SpaniardsAlthough the momentum appears to have slowed since last weekend’s mass demonstration, a sense of optimism still prevails among the thousands of protesters calling the makeshift camp home.

But many here in Puerta del Sol are hoping their movement will ripple across the continent. The question on everyone’s lips remains…will the Arab Spring be followed by a European Summer of discontent?

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