Squatting hits a Podemos voter in Spain who now threatens to vote Vox
A Podemos voter in Spain has her flat squatted and responds with an electoral U-turn: 'maybe I'll vote Vox'. An irony worth pondering.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Squatting reaches a Podemos voter: 'maybe I'll vote Vox'
The story has all the ingredients to set social media alight: a Podemos voter, one who presumably never imagined finding herself in this situation, has had her flat squatted. Her reaction, recorded in the account that has circulated, is a cold shower for the left: 'I never thought this would happen to us.' And an outright electoral threat: 'maybe I'll vote Vox.'
Beyond the personal anecdote, the case illustrates the contradiction many have long pointed out. Those who defended or downplayed squatting as a problem of the rich or of speculators are now discovering that the phenomenon does not distinguish between ideologies. A squatted property does not ask which ballot you put in the box: it enters a left-wing voter's flat just as easily as a conservative owner's.
The reaction was not long in coming. Some respond with a mix of mockery and comeuppance: if you voted for those who whitewash squatting, what are you complaining about? Others prefer to stress the irony: the voter who sits to the left of the PSOE (Spain's main centre-left party), after taking the hit, announces her swing towards Vox. As if squatting, in the end, were doing more for the far right than any political speech.
The awkward question also arises: Spanish squatters in Segarro? 'Fat chance,' common sense replies, noting that the phenomenon is rarely exported to countries where the response is firm. The contrast between tolerance at home and the impossibility of practising it abroad is, at the very least, instructive.
The woman affected has not yet confirmed where she will cast her vote. But the mere doubt already says more about ideological fatigue than many analyses do. If squatting starts to move votes among those who justified it, the phenomenon could end up having political consequences nobody budgeted for. The question hangs in the air: how many Podemos voters need to have their flats squatted before they switch sides?
The story has all the ingredients to set social media alight: a Podemos voter, one who presumably never imagined finding herself in this situation, has had her flat squatted. Her reaction, recorded in the account that has circulated, is a cold shower for the left: 'I never thought this would happen to us.' And an outright electoral threat: 'maybe I'll vote Vox.'
Beyond the personal anecdote, the case illustrates the contradiction many have long pointed out. Those who defended or downplayed squatting as a problem of the rich or of speculators are now discovering that the phenomenon does not distinguish between ideologies. A squatted property does not ask which ballot you put in the box: it enters a left-wing voter's flat just as easily as a conservative owner's.
The reaction was not long in coming. Some respond with a mix of mockery and comeuppance: if you voted for those who whitewash squatting, what are you complaining about? Others prefer to stress the irony: the voter who sits to the left of the PSOE (Spain's main centre-left party), after taking the hit, announces her swing towards Vox. As if squatting, in the end, were doing more for the far right than any political speech.
The awkward question also arises: Spanish squatters in Segarro? 'Fat chance,' common sense replies, noting that the phenomenon is rarely exported to countries where the response is firm. The contrast between tolerance at home and the impossibility of practising it abroad is, at the very least, instructive.
The woman affected has not yet confirmed where she will cast her vote. But the mere doubt already says more about ideological fatigue than many analyses do. If squatting starts to move votes among those who justified it, the phenomenon could end up having political consequences nobody budgeted for. The question hangs in the air: how many Podemos voters need to have their flats squatted before they switch sides?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (50 replies).
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