page_title: Anti-austerity movement in Spain
section_title: 18 May
hierarchical_section_title: Anti-austerity movement in Spain / 2011 events / May 2011 / 18 May
caption_attribution_description: English: Puerta del Sol (Sun Sq.), Madrid (Spanish Protests May 2011). Español: Protestas en la Puerta del Sol de Madrid en mayo de 2011
context_page_description: The anti-austerity movement in Spain, also referred to as the 15-M Movement, and the Indignados Movement, was a series of protests, demonstrations, and occupations against austerity policies in Spain that began around the local and regional elections of 2011 and 2012. First starting on 15 May 2011, many of the subsequent demonstrations spread through various social networks such as Real Democracy NOW and Youth Without a Future.
  Spanish media related the movement to the 2008–14 Spanish financial crisis, the Arab Spring, as well as demonstrations in North Africa, Iran, Greece, Portugal, in Iceland. The movement was also compared to Stéphane Hessel's political manifesto Time for Outrage!, which was seen to empower Spanish youth not in school, training, or employment. Protestors rallied against high unemployment rates, welfare cuts, politicians, and the two-party system in Spain, as well as the political system, capitalism, banks, and public corruption. Many called for basic rights, of home, work, culture, health and education.
  According to RTVE, the Spanish public broadcasting company, between 6.5 and 8 million Spaniards participated in these events.
context_section_description: According to El País, many protesters wore carnations, imitating protesters during the Portuguese Carnation Revolution. In addition, protesters organized a food stand, which provided food donated by local businesses, and set up a webcam to provide news from Puerta del Sol through the website Ustream.tv. The protesters were advised not to drink alcohol or to organize into groups of more than 20 people, as these acts could provoke a legal police crackdown.
  The police ordered protesters to disperse in Valencia, Tenerife and Las Palmas. During the evacuation of the Plaza del Carmen in Granada, three people were arrested. Speeches continued throughout the afternoon. The protests grew to include León, Seville (where a campout started as of 19 May), and other provincial capitals and cities in Spain. Protesters created support groups for each campout on Twitter and other national and international networks. Google Docs and other servers began to receive download requests for documents needed to legally request permission for new protests. In the morning, the Federación de Asociaciones de Vecinos de Barcelona (FAVB) announced its support of the protests in Barcelona. Protesters agreed to hold meetings between their organizing committees each day at 1 p.m. and assemblies at 8 p.m.
  The Washington Post covered the protests on 15 May; on 18 May, more media outlets began to publish news reports. Among them was Le Monde, the most widely circulated newspaper written in French, with an article that noted the rarity of such large-scale protests in Spain. The German newspaper Der Spiegel noted the importance of the effects of what has been called "The Facebook Generation" on the protests. The Portuguese paper Jornal de Notícias reported on the protests in Madrid as soon as it was known that they had been prohibited. The New York Times cited El País and noted the strong organization of the protesters, particularly the 200 people who had been placed in charge of security, and the use of Twitter to ensure dissemination of their message. The Washington Post again reported on the protests in Puerta del Sol, giving them the name of a "revolution," estimating that 10,000 people attended Wednesday afternoon's protest, and comparing the protests with those in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which had recently ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The BBC made reference to the peaceful nature of the protests in Puerta del Sol.
  In the evening, the President of the Regional Electoral Committee of Madrid issued a statement declaring the protests illegal because "calls for a responsible vote can change the results of the elections." Police units stationed at Plaza del Sol, however, received orders from the Government Delegation not to take out any further action.
caption: Protests and tents in Madrid on 20 May
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