HUELGA GENERAL!

My first experience with a European labor strike came when I was about ten. My family had planned a summer trip to England/Ireland to visit my grandmother… and the pilots went on strike. In a journal that I kept at the time I write about it all very matter-of-factly… we ended up canceling the trip.

So on Thursday morning I was excited to wake up and walk through the city and see my first strike first-hand. I decided not to even try the metro, instead taking a 45-minute trek to class. Early in the morning activity was scarce… leaflets coated the ground and stickers the building windows, remnants of the previous nights’ enthusiasm, but actual strikers were hardly seen. So after class I headed downtown—to the “protest route” between Cibeles and Sol, and there I found it. Thousands of people carrying labor union signs, chanting slogans, and blowing whistles; an exciting and claustrophobia inducing mob. I set about my exploration.

I have been to several protests in Spain in the past year or so, and every time there are certain things that stand out to me. Being American, the first is, necessarily, the sheer number of people who turn out. In the States it seems that protesting is really hard. Perhaps the recent Occupy movements have changed this, but in my experience, protest is usually the political means taken by the perhaps too-devoted fringe. If you’re protesting, you’re probably a little bit fanatic. By contrast, in Spain, EVERYONE likes to protest. It’s basically an excuse to get out in the streets, hang out with your friends, chat, have a beer, and perhaps chant some slogans. This ties in closely with the other aspect of Spanish demonstrations that always impresses me—that being the demographics represented. Young and old, the visibly affluent and the visibly poor alike participate. It’s heartening, to me, to see this level of social cohesion. Even if some are only there for the botellón.

Yesterday, just hours after the general strike ended, the conservative government revealed its budget for the coming year. With deep cuts aimed at appeasing the European Union, it is likely that Spain will be the stage for more protests, demonstrations, and strikes in the coming months. So if you’re coming to Spain, I urge you to take this opportunity to immerse yourself in the global zeitgeist. The demonstrations in Madrid have been overwhelmingly peaceful, and you’d be surprised how much you can learn just by taking a walk with your eyes open.