El movimiento 15M, en portada del New York Times

Artículo de portada en The New York Times acerca del movimiento 15M y el despertar de los españoles ante un sistema que no les representa y que exigen cambiar. El artículo, “An awakening that keeps them up all night“ está escrito por Suzanne Daley y acompañado por una galería de fotos de  Marta Ramoneda, con quienes tuve oportunidad de mantener una larga conversación en mi despacho el pasado día 31 de mayo, y que se documentaron además extensamente mediante múltiples entrevistas sobre el terreno tanto en Madrid como en Barcelona.

Mi énfasis más claro estuvo en explicar cuáles eran las motivaciones reales del movimiento, las razones que llevaron a la gente a salir a la calle el pasado 15 de mayo, y las peticiones de regeneración democrática que había detrás, y algunas de esas ideas aparecen en el texto del artículo o en los ladillos de la galería fotográfica.

Un fragmento del final del artículo:

Historically, Spaniards have taken to the streets with some regularity, like most Europeans. But the events are usually organized by political parties and unions, organizations that the young have largely ignored. Many of the new protesters say they are disgusted with the unions that do little to represent their interests and with both of Spain's main parties, which they view as corrupt and unresponsive.

Early participants say the protests bloomed over Twitter and Facebook, triggered by several events that gnawed at the younger generation, including revelations from WikiLeaks documents that showed government officials to be less than forthright, and opposition to a recent antipiracy Internet law, which aims to shut down previously legal Web sites enabling the free downloading of music and films.

"WikiLeaks and the antipiracy law were not the reasons for the outpouring," said Enrique Dans, an economist and blogger at the IE Business School in Madrid, who became involved in protesting the antipiracy law and then helped to mobilize his followers. "But they were the spark. Just like the man who set himself on fire in Tunisia was not the reason, but the spark for what happened afterwards."

Mr. Dans arrived at the initial demonstration late and was stunned at the turnout. "I came around the corner and I thought, 'My God, there are people here,' " he said. "There has never really been a grass-roots movement in Spain."

La protesta tiene cada vez más reflejo internacional, y los políticos españoles siguen haciendo de Don Tancredo: con la cara pintada de blanco y subidos a un pedestal. El próximo día 19 de junio, vamos a decírselo una vez más volviendo a tomar las calles. Apúntatelo en la agenda.

(Enlace a la entrada original - Licencia)