Dear all,
Here is an revealing set of videos showing the demonstrations in Madrid, many of them by freelance cameras:
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2012/09/26/actualidad/1348655852_176136.html
There is even filmed evidence of infiltrated police who were attacked by their mates. In the following video one of them shouts "F*** off, stop it, I'm a mate" while another one arrives and says "Arrest this one, the other is one of us!":
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2012/09/26/videos/1348677265_981638.html
The demonstrations --and the police response-- have presented a very interesting spatial distribution. Many of the videos were shot in Paseo del Prado, the broadest public space in the area, were the police attacks were more intense. Actually it was easy for the police to move and shoot there, but once they started to run and chase the demonstrators they were soon scattered and dotted in small groups in the midst of the crowd -- some of them arrived at Atocha station, 1,500 m. away from the Parliament. It is not the usual point for police interventions in Madrid and obviously they couldn't control the situation, despite the fact that there were 1,300 agents in the city centre that evening.
This situation reminded me of some of August Blanqui's insurrectional ideas about the Parisian boulevards -- contra the conventional understanding of the great avenues as a space for police and military intervention, Blanqui saw them as an opportunity for popular resistance (see Merrifield, Magical Marxism, p. 68).
The reaction from the Spanish government has been insulting, as usual: the politicians praise those who remain silent in our current predicament for their courage and, of course, say the police intervention was completely appropriate.
Best wishes,
Álvaro
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Álvaro Sevilla Buitrago
DEPARTAMENTO DE URBANÍSTICA Y ORDENACIÓN DEL TERRITORIO
ESCUELA TÉCNICA SUPERIOR DE ARQUITECTURA DE MADRID
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Avenida Juan de Herrera, 4 – 28040 Madrid
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
blog: http://multipliciudades.org
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