In the first days of October 2017, the Catalan people carried out the process they set in motion to decide their destiny. The doors were opened to an unpredictable future. Life lived every minute and every second, and from the bottom it was thought there were real possibilities of building something new. The repression exercised by the Spanish State, and the lack of capacity of the local political elite, ruined all these purposes and opportunities.
Maintaining such a political process over time, that is, keeping the streets up, is very difficult. And a year and several months later, these difficulties are clearly seen. In the early days of October 2017, anyone who was in Barcelona could feel a special atmosphere. I could capture a very special blend between the illusion and the feeling of making history. Today, this force that was expressed so violently is disappearing and, therefore, the process is being shut down. Despite the long marches that bring thousands of protesters together, the presence of more radical acts that can lead to a point of tension or act as a display of strength is increasingly low.
On 12 February, for example, while all the media were involved in the trial that had just begun, before the Prosecutor’s Office of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, it began as a protest and an action was carried out that ended as a popular wall. Example of civil disobedience. As has happened in many other cases, dozens of citizens (perhaps 120) stated in this case that the struggle had not yet ended. The desire to follow the logic of resistance was clearly seen in their eyes. There were people of all ages, including whole families. With great calm and courage, they waited for the arrival of the Mossos. Among them were some of the strongest weights of the Cup, such as the Carles Riera, which was devastated. The Mossos d'Esquadra raised them one by one and, in some cases, with violence. On the other side of the police fence were dozens of people who had stopped to protect them and who, above all, left the walls. After his transfer to Rie, the action was stopped.
It was a time of intense contrast. As I said, a very large number of people were not collected. But, despite the small amount, there was a great passion for fighting in it. On the other hand, it was enough to leave a few seconds from the space in which the wall had been erected to see that water was a phenomenon with a high degree of unreality. While the Mossos drew “martyrs” without ever stopping, in the cafes, bars, shops and streets of the area you could live the daily atmosphere, without any kind of agitation, adorned with that cold coming from people you can see in the cities.
The activation of the streets is necessary to activate the process. Freedom and a new framework for building a new socio-economic model do not fall from the sky. There is a need for continuous and daily work. What needs to be done step by step, but without pause. If the radical side for independence is not strengthened and it does not have the possibility of acting as a credible “threat”, the process will be shut down. And if the process goes out, you miss a unique opportunity to build a new future.
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