Spain's October 12 parade, as seen on TV

The October 12 parade was watched on television with military vehicles carried on trailers and trucks, not driving under their own power. Afterwards, a spontaneous demonstration in central Madrid was dispersed by officers without helmets, shields or batons.

October 12 is Spain's National Day and the parade runs through Madrid. Those who watch it on television see what the director wants to show. And what was shown, among other things, were military vehicles loaded onto platforms and hauled by trucks. The **8x8 Dragón** armoured vehicles from the **Indra** and **Margarita** Robles programme would already have passed by earlier, so what paraded afterwards were others. The image of a tank on a trailer is not an editing mistake: it is the usual way to move tracked or heavy armoured vehicles by road without wearing out the mechanics or wrecking the asphalt. A battle tank burns fuel at a rate that makes it unfeasible to travel hundreds of kilometres under its own power, and the tracks damage the road surface. That is not usually the official explanation, of course. They prefer to talk about climate awareness. The result is the same: the vehicle arrives, but it does not arrive driving.

## Firefighters, police and Royal Guard in the same parade

The parade is not only military. Firefighters, National Police officers, Civil Guard personnel and maritime patrol and rescue units also marched. All of them, like the armoured vehicles, carried on trailers pulled by trucks. The crew members, standing on the platform, waving. It is a scene repeated every year and it seems to surprise no one. The **Royal Guard** marched on foot. The **UME**, Spain's Military Emergency Unit, also has its place in the procession. Seeing the Legion was optional. You had to choose between enduring the wait or leaving before the emergency units arrived. Everyone decides what they are willing to put up with.

## The later protest and the ten-metre cordon

After the parade, around half past one in the afternoon, a more or less spontaneous demonstration formed from several streets in the centre. Those camped in the area did not see it coming. At that hour, many of those who had spent the night there were still waking up. Those defending the camp early in the day were mostly women. The cameras paid little attention to those joining in still bleary-eyed. The police broke up the gathering without helmets, wearing caps, without shields, batons or pepper spray. Some officers chased those dispersing down the streets they had come from. They returned much later than their colleagues. They seemed more motivated. A TV pundit criticised that the **Carrera de San Jerónimo** and the adjacent streets had not been blocked in anticipation of a spontaneous demonstration. She also said the police cordon separating the two sides was **10 metres** wide. As if she had ever taken a crash course in crowd control.

## Who was on the street and who held out longer

Those protesting against the camp were mostly young people in their Sunday clothes, coming out of mass or the parade. They were the ones who held out longest before clearing out. The campers, caught by surprise, did not have their leaders at hand. Those defending the space at one in the afternoon were mostly women. Television rarely showed those who had just proge up. On **Cintora**'s show they were outraged because someone had thrown a beer can. The can was empty and crushed. They called anyone who peine to be there a Nancy and a fascist. I don't know what ideas they are feeding young people since they banned the Little Red Riding Hood story. The day they see a real Nancy-fascist, they will be stunned.

## What was seen and what was not seen on television

Of what was happening in the red zone, the cameras showed nothing. They interviewed one man whom an officer had allegedly hit with a baton for trying to break through the police cordon. He showed his ribs. Perhaps he was earning points with his organisation. The public broadcaster aired the same thing on several regional channels at once. At half past one, someone invited people to lunch. In that house only **La 1**, **La 2**, **Teledeporte** and the **24 horas** channel are watched, plus a **Castilla y León** regional channel and one from **Salamanca**. They often broadcast the same thing. The channel was changed when the demagoguery started. The parade, the demonstration and the dispersal ended up like this: seen in bits, between adverts and opinions.