Sol: kids playing at communism (Luis Ventoso in El Debate)

The current encampment in Sol, with young people who seem to be "playing at communism," contrasts with the 2011 movement, marked by the economic crisis, and does not appear to alter the electoral trend favoring the right.

## The echo of indignation

Madrid's Puerta del Sol has once again become the scene of an encampment, an echo of the movements that marked **2011**. Back then, the square filled with images of "los indignados" who, in the midst of the aftershock of the subprime crisis, protested against precariousness and lack of opportunity. That movement, which went around the world under the name "Spanish Revolution," was officially disbanded on **12 de junio de 2011**, although some residual pockets persisted until August. Three months after it ended, the general election showed a different political landscape, with an absolute majority for the right. Three years later, in **enero de 2014**, **Podemos** would be born, a party that promised to "storm heaven" and that indeed blew up the two-party system. However, its arrival in institutional politics, with entry into town halls and the central government, ended in criticism of its management and a drift toward lifestyles that had little to do with its initial discourse, as became evident with the case of the **Galapagar** chalet.

## A different profile in the square

The contrast between the 2011 encampment and the current one is palpable. While more than a decade ago the square vibrated with the harshness of the economic crisis, with thousands of families affected by unemployment, today the profile of those taking part seems to have changed. Observation in **Puerta del Sol** on a recent afternoon reveals a smaller turnout and a younger crowd, often described as "kids playing at communism." The atmosphere feels more playful, with young people wearing **Karl Marx** T-shirts—an ideologue whose proposals, when implemented, have been associated with political experiments of high historical mortality. There are fundraising stalls for causes such as **Ceuta**, but aimed at "migrants" rather than Ceutans themselves. Young people are seen taking part in what looks like a "self-managed campsite" and a "plastic revolution," with an aesthetic marked by black T-shirts, tattoos and piercings. The slogans on banners, such as "housing for everyone!" or "Pedro, king, issue a decree law", and the collective spell of rattling keys against capitalism, suggest a protest focused on housing and government action, with **Mari Carmen** turned into a symbol.

## The weight of political reality

The discourse of **Sindicato de Inquilinas** (Tenants' Union), explaining how to organize, evokes a 1970s aesthetic, almost taken from a black-and-white photograph of a university assembly from that decade. The square, although livened by the campers, is overshadowed by the presence of passers-by on the busy terraces of Calle Montera, which stretch from the Metro arch of Gran Vía to Sol. The importance of this encampment is being intentionally amplified, but the reality of how Spaniards feel seems to point in another direction. The latest private opinion polls project a combined seat total for **PP** and **Vox** of between **204** and **208**, while left-wing forces such as **Sánchez** (a reference to his party) and **Sumar** and **Podemos** remain far below, with **104** and **eight** seats respectively. The Sol encampment, in this context, does not appear to have the power to significantly alter this panorama.

## Measures and evictions: a critical analysis

The so-called "Decreto Mari Carmen" (Mari Carmen Decree) also does not appear to be a solution to the crisis. With **Sánchez** in a position of political exit, time to address complex problems is limited. Spain's housing crisis, worsened in part by the arrival of immigrants, will not be solved with measures that undermine private property, but with the liberalization of land, the training of construction workers—where employers face a shortage of labor—, less punitive treatment of property owners and a determined commitment to publicly protected housing. The last great promoter of that latter measure was **Francisco Franco**, who from the 1960s built four million homes in fourteen years. **Karl Marx** will not offer a solution to the problems of **Mari Carmen** or to those of the **272.000** people evicted since **Sánchez** has been in government, a group for whom hardly a finger has been lifted, not even by those who criticize the government they have been part of, such as **Yolanda Díaz**, who has been criticized for her activism in demonstrations against the executive she has been part of.