The Occupied Times speaks to Spanish economist Arcadi Oliveres about the Real Democracy Now movement and the failure of neoliberalism.
Laura Alvarez: What is ‘Real Democracy Now’ (RDN)?
Arcadi Oliveres: I think it is a movement that came to light on May 2011, although it probably originated a long time ago. It tries to highlight discontent towards the economic, political, labour and social situation we suffer from, in Spain, and now also in other countries that are beginning to rise up
L.A: Who conforms to RDN?
A.O: It is a global phenomenon that takes one shape or another depending on the society hosting it. In Spain we have two nucleuses: Madrid and Barcelona. In the case of Madrid, a significant amount of people initially protested against the Sinde Law, and in the case of Barcelona the movement was highly freed up by those ‘affected by the moorage’. But obviously there is a lot more people: from NGOs to individuals.
L.A: Is it only people who have something immediate to claim then?
A.O: Not necessarily. There is a lot of people who just do not agree with the system that was set in Spain in 1977 and that ended up realising itself to be a fake democracy, lacking the most fundamental representative and participative elements. It is people that, for one reason or another, are disappointed with this fake democracy we have now. We claim the abolition of the neoliberal establishment and call for reflection about its embedded modern value system.
L.A: What is the global context in which ‘Social Democracy Now’ was born, and how does RDN interact with the other ongoing social movements claiming rights and dignity?
A.O: In the case of Spain, and looking beyond the time-space coincidence, it should be said that RDN was delayed. Although the crisis started in September 2008, it was not until May 2011 that we welcomed the movement. Nevertheless, it shares the core ideology with all the other social movements ongoing in Western countries. People in Israel, Iceland, Barcelona and elsewhere realised that neoliberal economy does not work any longer because it ultimately advantages the wealthiest ones. But not only that, it does so at the expense of the poorest and limiting their possibilities to grow. Furthermore, in the case of North Africa, there was an added factor, which is that one of an absolute absence of political rights and freedoms. And I say ‘added’ because if there is a 45% of unemployed youth in Spain, there the rate rises up until 70 or 80%. The situation is much worse down there.
L.A: Would you then say that all these uprisings have the same point of departure, one which maybe originated decades ago?
A.O: Absolutely. Looking at the newspaper archives we see how the French were already taking the streets 7 years ago, and we also realise the recent riots in London were not newly born at all. In the case of Britain the matter finds its origins in Margaret Thatcher’s annihilation of the Welfare State, and actually the consequences of this are still ongoing. Although in Spain we have never had a comparable Welfare State, we still see social disaffection towards the lack of it as well. In North African countries they have never had such a thing, and consequently they have a society that showed a deficit. However, and regardless of these differences, we certainly see there is a common origin. This is people’s unrest and grievance, people’s dignity being damaged, and the fact that there is a minority making profit out of a disadvantaged majority.
L.A: Generally speaking, do you think it can be claimed that people protest against the neoliberal establishment?
A.O: Yes but there is a notable difference between the uprisings taking place in the West and those we see in Africa and in the Middle East: here people who protest have contributed to the reinforcement of the establishment. We need to be aware of the fact that probably most of the parents of the protesters have been financial speculators by, for example, creating a bank pension fund. This means we are also responsible of the economic crisis and the crisis of democracy. The scenario is radically different in those countries hosting the Arab Spring.
L.A: Do you think that people have not protested earlier because they were fine with the system?
A.O: Yes and no. The answer has come now because all social movements have a gestation process. The discontent has been going on for a while, but it is now with this huge crisis that people are driven to the edge. It is people who lost their jobs years ago and that are no longer receiving benefits, it is desperate people, and so they protest. Additionally, the fact of having general elections around the corner was decisive for the emergence of RDN as well. And of course, it also helped the fact of seeing uprisings taking place in many other countries. We saw that our frustration was not isolated, but rather empowering a global movement.
By Laura Alvarez