Democracy Reloaded

This chapter presents the major contributions of the book and the question of the role pro-democracy movements can play in democratic regeneration in times of crisis. It argues that their emancipatory potential lies in critique and resignification of the meaning of democracy, and in prefigurative experimentation in democratic practice. Activists in 15-M developed shared master frames about the crisis, austerity, and democracy that enabled them to not only develop a strong collective identity, but also to effectively contest hegemonic narratives used to justify austerity politics. In this way democracy also became one core factor in enabling cross-sectoral alliances, in both form (movement practices that prefiguratively embodied a “15-M” way of manifesting democratic principles) and in content (diagnoses of deficient democracy and new imaginaries proposed to correct these deficiencies).The chapter evaluates the impact and significance of the 15-M movement, and the potential for autonomous movements to reload democracy in times of crisis.

15-M and Podemos

Chapter 10, “15-M and Podemos: Explaining the Puzzle of the ‘Electoral Turn,’ ” explores the relationship between 15-M and Podemos to answer a central puzzle that arises from the case of 15-M: How did so many members of a movement that was radically committed to critiquing representative democracy embrace the Podemos electoral initiative less than three years later while still claiming allegiance to the spirit and identity of the 15-M movement? It argues that party strategists engaged in extensive discursive work to overcome their cognitive dissonance and realign their activist identities to embrace an electoral option without reneging their 15-M identity. Podemos managed to convince 15-M activists by offering the promise of integrating core elements of 15-M political culture into the party, including autonomy, feminism, and a digitally enabled hacker ethic.

Indignant and Precarious Youth

Chapter 9, “Indignant and Precarious Youth,” explores Spain’s indignant “Youth Without Future” and how they are facing the post-crisis scenario by demanding the right to a dignified life and constituting a precarious political subject, “youth,” that greatly inspired the origins and development of the 15-M movement. From hunger strikers in the Puerta del Sol, to Juventud Sin Futuro (Youth Without Future, or JSF), to the Oficina Precaria (Precarious Office), these young activists creatively and passionately connect their lived experience directly with core austerity issues (education, housing, healthcare, precarious un/employment, and emigration), identifying a matrix of identifying those who are responsible for and benefit from austerity politics (bankers, etc.) against whom they direct their indignation. In so doing, they continually frame their activism in relation to the deficiencies of really existing democracy and contribute to the development of a new democratic imaginary, drawing on core elements of 15-M political culture and collective identity.

The PAH

Chapter 8, “The PAH: Building a Movement within a Movement,” analyzes the Platform for those Affected by Mortgages (PAH), a widely admired and highly valued organization within 15-M, and also the one that addresses one of the austerity issues with the highest social, economic, and personal impact: the housing crisis. It shows how the PAH took this issue, which lies at the core of the Spanish financial crisis, and converted it into the basis for a powerful mass movement while developing a powerful and influential counter-narrative that connects groups across issues and organizational forms in 15-M.

“It’s Not a Crisis, It’s a Swindle”

Part III, analyzes the 15-M network after occupation camps ended. The Introduction to Part III, provides an overview of the two main coordinating bodies that sought to give continuity to the Acampada Sol’s general assembly as a decision-making organ, and to structure to the post-occupation movement network in Madrid, showing that neither of them were capable of doing so. Instead of looking for a coordinating organization to find the parameters of the movement network, it argues that one can “find” the movement by delving into different 15-M initiatives and showing how their shared political culture and collective identity provide the glue that holds them together.

15-M Political Culture, Collective Identity, and the Logic of Autonomous Networks in the Digital Age

Chapter 12, “15-M Political Culture, Collective Identity, and the Logic of Autonomous Networks in the Digital Age,” argues that, against all odds, autonomous networking logics can build and sustain strong movements in the absence of formal professionalized organizational structures and strong leadership, and across heterogeneous issues and identities. It explores the synergies and tensions within 15-M political culture, and shows how they act as a corrective to some of the key challenges faced by autonomous movements. Contra “connective action” theses, the chapter shows how collective action logics continue to fuel autonomous networks in the digital age.

Spanish Democracy and 15-M

Chapter 1, “Spanish Democracy and 15-M,” explores the political opportunities provided by the historical, cultural, and economic context in which the movement emerged. It argues that translating economic grievances into sustained mobilization and protest requires the concerted effort of collective actors, as the variance in levels of mobilization across different European countries similarly affected by the crisis/austerity shows. It shows how in Spain one of the key strategies of the 15-M movement was to contest hegemonic narratives about the inevitability of the crisis and austerity, and the necessity of passing the costs of private bank bailouts onto the public. By framing the “democratic deficit” (i.e., the corrupt and uncaring political class) as responsible for both the crisis and its effects, the movement provided a powerful impetus for mobilization against both the economic-financial crisis and the legitimation crisis of “really existing” democracy. This ability to mobilize counter-hegemonic narratives helps explain different collective responses to similar material and political contexts; in other words, it helps make sense of why effective contestation can be found in some contexts (e.g., Spain) but not in others hit equally as hard (e.g., Ireland).

“The Citizens Did It”

Chapter 7, “ ‘The Citizen’s Did It’:15MpaRato, Autonomous Hacker Ethics in Action” moves from the “analog” mobilizations of the preferentes pensioners discussed in the previous chapter to the technopolitics of 15MpaRato, which bases its political praxis on a hacker ethic that seeks to harness the power of the digital commons to bring down the bankers responsible for the fraud behind the preferentes scandal and the massive public bailout of these same banks. It shows how their technopolitical praxis is used to contest and transform hegemonic narratives about the crisis, austerity, and Spanish democracy, and above all to show people that ordinary citizens can reclaim public institutions for the common good.

May 15, 2011

Chapter 3, “May 15, 2011: An Unexpected Detonator,” explores the central demands and evolution of the Madrid protest, showing how it established key frames that would later define the movement. These key frames brought together anti-austerity and pro-democracy demands that primarily targeted national political and economic elites. Activists worked hard behind the scenes to generate commitment to the protest across different movement families and sectors, and to draw newcomers in. The organizers were surprised by the strength of support, and by the end of the day some felt that that energy needed to be carried over into a more long-term mobilization. The analysis shows that although the protest itself was carefully planned and not spontaneous, its aftermath led to the spontaneous decision to remain in the Puerta del Sol. This act of civil disobedience and the repression it triggered produced the Acampada Sol “event” that would truly give birth to the 15-M movement.

Origin Stories

Part II traces 15-M from its origins to the end of the occupation of Madrid’s central plaza, the Puerta del Sol. The Introduction to Part II argues for the need to distinguish analytically between the original 15-M protest, the 15-M occupation camps of the squares (or acamapadas), and the 15-M movement that adopted this label following the original protests and occupations. Although the three are closely connected, each have distinct features that shape their emergence and evolution. Distinguishing between them allows us to evaluate claims about spontaneity, newness, and the role of digital media and tools in creating new organizing logics of collective action. It also introduces key aspects of the Spanish asambleario autonomous movement culture that deeply influenced the organizational forms and orientations of the 15-M movement.