“Congratulations Euskal Herria! Once again we have demonstrated an enormous capacity to do, to organize and to mobilize the people!” This is how the assessment of the General Feminist Strike by coordinator Denon Bizitzak Erdigunea (DBE) has begun. “Today we take a tremendous step towards a community public care system,” he celebrated, ensuring that the day has been “historic.” “Today we have come out to change the world, because another system is possible!”

The feminist movement has recalled that it has long denounced the “care crisis and its global dimension” and the pandemic showed that it was “collapsed”. “All this required an answer.” The last answer was today's strike.

Allies, enemies, marginals

The IGR has applauded the road in alliance with surveillance sectors, trade unions or popular movements, and has denounced that multinational institutions, parties and companies have tried to “steal” feminist discourse to ruin and empty political content: “That’s why it’s been important that today our demands come to the streets to challenge institutions, to denounce entrepreneurs, and also to point out to men that they assume no responsibility in this area.”

“The surveillance regime in the Basque Country is absolutely supportive and familiar,” he said. “Stop doing business with our lives!” reproach companies, putre funds and institutions that have privatized care and turned it into business.

The coordinator has taken into account those most affected by the care model: household employees in general, residents in particular, migrant and racist citizens, rural population, pensioners and women pensioners in particular.

Short and long term

The IGR considers that the system is “collapsed”. It indicates that on the one hand we must provide an “immediate” solution to the most serious situations and on the other hand we must work “in the long term”: “Capitalism, patriarchy and beyond colonialism, is the time to dream and exercise in the future the community public care system we want.”

To this end, the feminist movement has called for the People’s Agreement presented in October by the tool coordinator herself. “Now is the time to make decisions and to make changes,” he explained, and in that way he has challenged the “Basque governments”.

Intersectoral Bureau and People's Agreement

“We are clearly addressing the Basque Governments: we demand the creation of an intersectoral table to urgently address the issue of surveillance. Do not ignore our demands. We call for political will in this emergency situation. In the governments, in the municipalities, in the foreign ministers in all the positions of responsibility, tomorrow,” the RGI claimed.

He points out that before the People’s Agreement becomes a reality there is a “long way”, “today’s has been a milestone, but it is not the end of anything.” But it ensures that the movement emerges “strong” from the strike and asks the citizens to put that force in favour of the People’s Agreement: “Organize, care and live everything we’ve created to this day! We have the Community Public Surveillance System to win!”