On the 15th of May 2011, the Indignados movement was born through a number of protests that at the time took over Spain and which were followed by a year of non-stop economic problems, controversial labour law changes, drastic government spending cuts in health and education and a national strike that culminated in major riots in Barcelona. This weekend protesters gathered at Plaza Catalunya once again in view of the movement's one year anniversary. It was a birthday party we could not miss.
We followed various elements of the Spanish Occupy movement, getting the lowdown from both activists and members of the public. We looked to see if they still believe in peaceful protest, especially given the recent Government cuts, the arrests made during the national strike and the heavy-handed policing of protestors at past rallies.
Taking in what was mainly a positive atmosphere at the demonstrations, we spoke to key members of the Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Now) and Stop Balas de Goma (Stop Rubber Bullets) organisations. We also met with various individual protestors and interviewed the superhero demonstrators of ‘Reflectors Against Evil’, smashing the system one roll of tinfoil at a time.