How has the Solidarity Network of the Old Town been created? What were the first steps to launch the initiative?

When we realized the emergency situation, and using the framework of the different groups that we met in the Strike Committee, both individual and neighborhood, we began to organize the network. We understand the situation as a whole, we know that we cannot confine ourselves to patching the loopholes left by the capitalist system to cyclical surveillance work. But from there began our journey, convening an assembly of neighbors to respond to the needs arising in the emergency. We took all the necessary measures to carry out this assembly, designed by a health group.

In the first few days we have worked mainly on the technical side, but without losing the north, in the meantime, we have been working on the line of struggle. We have been adding resources and tools to our operation, and while we receive the calls of “Auzogileen” and “Bizilagunak” we inform them of our network, because it is clear that staying in a mere assistentialism would be a failure and that anyone who participates in the network must understand that to survive the consequences of this crisis it is essential to build the neighborhood power and organize the neighborhood defense.

Have you followed an example?

We have not followed concrete models, but we have taken up the ideas of the members of other peoples. When we began to realize that the health emergency would reach Euskal Herria, we contacted the members of Italy, who had been organized for several weeks by neighborhoods to cope with the emergency. Hence the idea of creating a line of mutual care. On the other hand, to continue the process of exchange of practices and ideas, we began to seek information about the organizational models of other countries, such as those of the Catalan countries. And from there we also received ideas and pooled the fighting practices. A clear example of this is the “Shock Plan”.

What are the objectives of the network?

Our primary objective is that the workers and neighbours should not be the ones who pay for the harsh consequences of this crisis. Driven by class solidarity, we started networking between militants and neighbors and organized a collective response to the emergency situation.

Within the framework of this main objective, it is essential to place the care in the center and the short-term objective is that the whole neighborhood has its basic needs covered, favoring the solidarity and community character.

In the short term, the objectives are oriented to give a collective response to the emergency situation, activating neighborhood defense tools in the face of this situation. Among these objectives are the following: that no neighbor has the need to leave the neighborhood because of the inability to pay for housing, that small businesses do not close the shutter, that workers’ rights are guaranteed, that the universal health service of the neighborhood is guaranteed...

In the medium and long term, the objective would be to go beyond the emergency situation, which would lead to the daily life of the neighborhood. Because what we are proposing – neighborhood advocacy, neighborhood care, community building – is not the needs of this emergency situation, but the ones that this crisis has intensified.

In the first four hours of the network's operation, 60 people came to the network to collaborate with it. How many people have already joined?

The response of neighbors and neighbours is being positive, 170 people have already called to show their willingness to cooperate; some people have had to be rejected because they did not comply with the health protocols. However, those who are unable to comply with the work we had originally planned have offered us other offers. On the other hand, more and more neighbors are calling to express their needs. We call the former “auzogile” and the latter “neighbors”, terms we have invented because they seem more appropriate to define work that goes beyond assistentialism. We are developing a process based on the construction of neighborhoods; with the encouragement of neighborhood relationships that have been broken down in recent years, we are building political relationships, beyond aid, with the objective of not paying for the health and economic crisis forever. We use the word “auzogile” because we are building the neighborhood and making a contribution to the neighborhood and we are demonstrating our willingness to respond to the needs of the neighborhood’s neighbors.

170 people have offered help. As far as the request for assistance is concerned, is it having the same success?

It's costing us more to reach the neighbors who have needs. However, we believe it is normal, since in this neighborhood where there are no relationships there is mistrust towards the unknown. With daily work, we intend to turn that mistrust around, and we believe that we are gradually getting there.

More and more neighbours are calling for help and advice. In addition, we have started to receive calls from neighbours who suffer violations of labour rights or who need legal assistance. The challenge we have from now on is to organize the collective struggle and response with the neighbors and neighbors who are approaching beyond counseling and are in contact with us.

Therefore, we would not speak of “success”, but of the necessity and difficulty of articulating a true collective response.

What reading do you do?

We believe that at first the lack of confidence of the people is one of the reasons why we do not receive calls, since we are in the Casco Viejo de Bilbao, where the neighborhood has become a showcase, relationships of collaboration have been lost and, therefore, the neighbors do not know each other. To this is added a generalized attitude that has been generated in this emergency situation: Under the motto “Save whoever can” (save whoever can) each has filled his refrigerators and cabinets in the first few days. In any case, our intention is to gain confidence in everyday work, and that is what we are about. We are increasingly calling for help, either to help with mandates or to respond to violations of labour rights. The main challenge now is to overcome that support and advisory service of the moment and organize a joint struggle. For this reason, it is essential to put forces in the defense of neighborhoods, in the construction of the community and in the recovery of relations between neighbors and neighbors.

On the other hand, as it is not possible to be present in the street at this moment, the main route we have to reach the neighbors is telematics and it is clear that it is not the best way to reach some sectors of the neighborhood. In this way, every day we try to set our imagination in motion to find other paths, such as putting informative wedges from the balconies.

What is the functioning of the network?

We are currently working in different working groups: communication, fighting, legal and health teams. In addition, we have a motor team in which political decisions are taken and coordination between the different working groups is ensured. Although each group has specific functions, communication between all is essential and for this we use messaging applications or video meetings.

From the beginning, “centralita” shifts of support were established, corresponding to three people who work with the phone and the email. From this hub, data from both the “Auzogiles” and the “Neighbors” are collected and organized, bringing them into contact. In addition, cases are forwarded to different working groups, reported in other neighborhoods, information is disseminated and different works are carried out.

Have you had any impediments to action? Has there been a forensic who has had a clash with the police, for example?

We have not had such a situation at the moment, but we know that at some point it can be reached. With this foresight and with the aim of protecting the neighbors and neighbors participating in the network, we have read and summarized the guides designed by lawyers and individual law teams. It is clear that the police will use this situation to use disproportionate and unjustified violence. That is why it is very important to be informed at all times of our rights and duties so that they do not use this state of alarm and fear to further control our lives. And along the same lines, we appeal to the neighbors on the old side to reject the control of the neighbors and take care of each other.

The neighbours make various contributions. To name a few, what kind of contributions have people made?

Contributions and proposals have been very varied. In the neighborhood the wave of solidarity is being brutal, we have received offers from commercial premises that have had to be closed, some are willing to speak on the phone with the people, others are willing to help the students with their duties. They have also been willing to offer translation services, to walk around dogs and to cook them, among others. In addition, the neighbors and neighbors have launched proposals to disseminate the information and, based on their proposals, we have put in place dynamics to disseminate the messages to the four winds: record the wedges and place them on the balconies, or hang banners and makeshift posters from the balconies, for example.

Solidarity networks are not exempt from the spread of the virus. This aspect has been taken into account and the network is supported by a health team. What has this group contributed?

We have worked together from the very beginning. The first thing we did when we started creating the network was to talk to the nearest toilets. We collected about seven toilets and designed all the safety protocols we have, as well as contact with the neighborhood's outpatient clinic. Their instructions are nothing new in themselves, they are the security measures that Osakidetza advises, but they have established the precise instructions to follow in the execution of each of the actions and have designed a list of requirements to be auzoganist. Beyond protocols and measures, this close relationship allows us to know the conditions of health workers and health centers.

In addition, we are constantly awaiting the health status of the network participants and in case there is any change, we must contact us to inform us and guarantee the protocols. On the other hand, we collect information from all the times when neighbors and neighbors meet to identify people who at some point have been in contact with the person who develops the symptoms of the disease.

If I am not mistaken, you have supported action on two interrelated axes: care and struggle. What is each based on? What's the connection?

Our main objective is to give a collective response to this emergency situation and the consequences it will bring, based on mutual care and struggle, which are the two lines of work we have. We believe that these two lines are inseparable, because taking care of each other is fighting and only by fighting will we guarantee mutual care.

As for care, we propose to attend to children and the needs of people in the “risk” group, that is, to attend to the situation of those who for different reasons have to avoid leaving the house – to bring shopping, to speak on the phone, to bring medicines…. Every day, however, new needs arise and we are also trying to respond to them. We also find it interesting to take into account the reflections and readings on the care performed by the feminist movement.

As far as the fight is concerned, we offer protection, support and advice to all neighbours and neighbours affected by violations of rights, both in the workplace and in any area – either because they will not be able to pay the rent of their home, because they will have problems paying bills for supplies, etc. Because we know that the consequences of this crisis will extend beyond salaried work. Our intention is not only to give an individual response to each case, but also to articulate a collective response, that is, to build a neighborhood defense.

The network has begun to respond to the situation generated by the coronavirus, but your approach is also ahead of the future. Going back to what we've known as a "normalcy situation," you don't see it as a way out, right?

This situation, in dependence on capital, makes it impossible for us to put our lives in the center and organize ourselves together. And although we suspect that these are “normal” situations, the problem manifests itself in a crisis situation like the one we are currently experiencing. It is precisely from this need that these mutual care groups are born, and we at least do not intend to disappear when the state of emergency is over, because it is a root problem and so we have to understand it if we are to face it.

We will take concrete steps to meet the needs of the moment. But we consider it essential to analyze the context, while responding to short-term emergencies, without losing the north, in order to understand and deal with the whole crisis.

The economic and social problems resulting from this crisis are nothing but a consequence of the patriarchal and individualistic “normalcy” that capitalism has imposed, resulting from the structural violence of the system itself. Our commitment is not to return to it, because it has become clear that putting lives at the centre is fundamental to the survival of the workers, and the system that has so far subordinated us does not. Faced with this, we demand a life model based on mutual care, organization and neighborhood defense.

You are clear that what you have presented as a health emergency is, in essence, another crisis. In view of the forecast that the damage to this crisis will be paid to the workforce, they have put in place a Shock Plan. What are the demands?

As we have already said, we do not believe that what we have before us is just a health emergency, because with this emergency the crisis of capitalism and the corrupt foundations of this system are coming to light. That is why the objective of the Shock Plan that we are developing at the neighborhood level is for the workers not to be the ones who pay for this crisis. To do so, we saw the need to create a fighting approach that goes beyond the emergency situation, referring to five major demands: housing, trade, empty floors, health and work.

Among the demands are the suspension of housing rentals and mortgages, the suspension of invoices for urgent services (water, gas, electricity…), the suspension of rents and mortgages of small shops in the neighborhood, making available to the neighbors the hotels, tourist apartments and empty flats of real estate agencies to respond to the serious consequences of the emergency and, among other things, ensure a quality and affordable health service in the neighborhood, which will not meet the needs of workers.

In any case, it should be said that we are still elaborating the Shock Plan, because it is clear to us that the ideas, forces and participation of all the agents of the neighborhood are essential to articulate a true collective response. To guarantee the neighborhood's Shock Plan, therefore, we are organizing neighborhood defense.

The emergency situation and the measures involved have made it extremely difficult for them to organize and respond collectively. How do you deal with these difficulties?

This situation is new to everyone, so the difficulties are present everywhere. As the life ahead of us is new, in the last week we have been forced to model the model of militancy. On the one hand, we can't be on the street to spread information from the vicinity, or meet to discuss with each other. On the other hand, in this emergency situation we are continuously presented with new problems that require an immediate response, so we must be in contact at all times.

Every day we think about new strategies to deal with the difficulties, and we get the proposals from the neighbors. We are gradually learning and we have to adapt to the situation.

Solidarity networks are spreading through neighbourhoods and villages. Do you have anything to do with other networks?

We've been in touch with other networks from the very beginning. Because from the very beginning it seemed essential to disseminate and share the material we have created, so we have provided and collected information and reflections at all times. The networks have been created in most of the neighborhoods of Bilbao and we are coordinating and weaving together, respecting the rhythms of each neighborhood.

The steps taken in this direction during these first two weeks have been telematic meetings in which the representatives of each network have met. Within this framework, we will share the details of each of the networks and agree on points to work together in the future.