The public outrage is justified

The public indignation materialized in outcries of anonymous people since 15th of March in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, and in several cities in Spain, change the course of the political campaign and becomes the protagonist of the front pages of national media. All I can see and hear from my laptop in the UK resulting in a feeling that moves between the hope and the relief of knowing that we are not asleep. "It’s about time1”, I tell myself. The media have made us protagonist in less than a week, and it is curious, because we have been it for years, victims of economic crisis, social injustice, corruption, manipulation and the curtailment of our rights. Something that, however, is not new in our history.

Because we are the protagonists in this play, we know all too well the reasons for these concentrations, that’s why we don’t need anybody to light us up and explain the reasons of our boredom and tiredness. I just list them:

1. 43% youth unemployment. Almost half the youth Spanish population is not working, those who have no experience or studies find really difficult to be recruited due to the high competition for the few jobs on offer; and those who have got qualifications and work experience , now are considered "overqualified". And all of this is happening, while we see that in Spain, to be prime minister is not required to speak English.

2. Injustice in the labour market. Those who work don’t envision a scenario very encouraging: aspiring to be "mileuristas" (earning no more than 1.000 euros per month for a full time job), having precarious contracts and enduring hellish working conditions for fear of being fired. If you are a woman, the situation is even more difficult: maternity redundancies double with the excuse of the crisis. How to escape from this labyrinth without end? Many, like me, have chosen to emigrate to other countries in search of opportunities denied to us in Spain.

3. "Tighten your belt". We have heard so many speeches appealing to social responsibility and the need to apply "difficult" measures to tackle the crisis ... In this term we have witnessed a labour reform that makes dismissals cheaper, lower wages for government employees, an increase of the retirement age and a drastic cut in social benefits (no more check-baby income, college loans with no interest rate or benefits to long-term unemployed). All this would make sense if there is a consistent policy of cuts and restrictions for all sectors of the population, but, unfortunately, in Spain the political class keeps their privileges, for example, by having exorbitant salaries - in some cases for life, paid from our pockets.

4. Ministry of Housing, what for? The housing bubble burst and, although prices have fallen slightly, housing in Spain is overvalued by 40%. Renting a house is also expensive, the average price is 750 euros per month, slightly less than the salary of a Spaniard "mileurista" without access to a mortgage. The alternative is to share an apartment for rent or live with parents. "To get by," say many young Spanish -and not so young. The trouble is that this option becomes mandatory and indefinite. And people get tired of that.

5. A discredited political class. Corruption scandals in the two major parties, lies, false promises and political actions in the service of financial power or lobbying businesses rather than citizens are, I’m afraid, too common in Spain. These politicians work for our welfare? People feel that politicians don’t represent them them, because they live in a “bubble”. As protesters say in front of the Puerta del Sol: "Citizens have lost respect for the major political parties, but because of this we are not going to lose our critical sense".

Clearly, there are plenty of reasons to be indignant and demonstrate against government. Still, we endure outrageous interested views saying things such as "behind all the protests are the extreme left-wing parties and communist groups" or that "this is organized just by young people, bored, with nothing better to do." Two days before regional and municipal elections, the Electoral Board has outlawed concentrations, so people can be fined just for protesting. This shows that who most should, still don’t understand. The day of reflection is not important. The election result doesn’t matter. The important thing here is that the Spanish have managed to organize in order to point out their outrage. How this will end? At the rate that is changing the world with the push of social networks, even sociologist can’t agree. I'm not a sociologist and couldn’t foresee the consequences, however, I hope that this has just begun.