Protesters hope to repeat Spain's 15M movement

Repeating the 15M today is far harder: support is weaker, the economic climate does not help, and behind it all there are only well-known activists. The electoral calendar sets the limit.

A citizens' encampment is trying to recreate the **15M** in several Spanish cities, but faces a very different landscape. Public backing is markedly lower than the movement enjoyed in **2011**.

## A movement without the fertile ground of 2011
Before the **15M** erupted in Spain there were many warning signs: the Arab Spring, the bailout of **Greece**, the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. A series of international events tied to economic restructuring and the destabilisation of the Middle East. Spain was the last country to join the wave of discontent.

That context no longer exists. The current situation carries neither the same gravity nor the same urgency. Those driving this encampment seem to ignore that the fertile ground of back then cannot be recreated by decree.

## Less support and fewer platforms
The backing is far smaller and looks set to stay that way. The scant participation of other platforms and associations weighs down any attempt to repeat the **15M**. Because it is such a specific issue, one that does not affect a clear majority of Spaniards the way an announcement of spending cuts or economic adjustments would, its reach is shorter.

It is worth remembering that the **PAH** (Platform for People Affected by Mortgages) was only one part of the **15M**. Behind this there are only activists, many of them already well known. And in **Barcelona** there is none of the conflict there was back then, so they distanced themselves from the call early on.

## Wear and tear and the electoral calendar
Their peak will probably be holding out until the general election, though they are unlikely to last until the local elections. There could be attempts to replicate the camp in other cities, but with little success. Before the **15M** there were protests in many Spanish cities, and not small ones. The situation was far more delicate, and far more was at stake than what is at stake here and now.

The **15M** was far more transversal and plural, with prominent figures and intellectuals behind it. After the marches of **2011**, the **PP** (People's Party) won an absolute majority. That, at least, could well happen again. As with any political prediction, these projections should be taken with caution.