What is PODEMOS, What is happening in Spanish political scene?

Bienvenidos a Artesanos del Metal,

Welcome to Metal Artisans,

This is my very first time writing a post in my blog in English, but this time is different, I want to write to outsiders because you probably has googled the question:

What is happening in Spain? or What is "PODEMOS"?


A los hispano-parlantes no españoles no les traduzco la entrada puesto que la información completa la pueden obtener directamente en podemos.info

In Spanish, "PODEMOS" means "WE CAN". 

Despite the similarity with the "Yes we can" from the Barack Obama's Presidential campaign a few years ago, and it being related with a politic slogan, this Spanish version differs substantially.

The Spanish version of "WE CAN" gives people the opportunity to change something in politics. However, this opportunity is not through choosing a new representative personality because of his/her charisma (Pablo Iglesias Turrión is really charismatic, indeed), but by giving to Spanish people a real democracy, a participative democracy, in its instead.

PODEMOS is a political movement that advocates for self-representation of every individual supported by Communication Technologies, and citizen assemblies.  

People gathers in public areas open to debate about different matters related to their worries: employment, health policy, education, immigration, economical affairs, ...

This has happened and is happening everywhere all around the world, although here it is involving from 20 to 1.000 people at a time in face-to-face meetings, or +150.000 people through social media.

plaza.podemos.info

"Plaza" in Spanish means "Square", like in "Square Garden". It is a public space where people can sit and enjoy the excellent Spanish weather while talking with a friend drinking a beer "caña" or whatever.

This digital plaza is an open place for public debate.

TV News and traditional political parties says it is a gathering of extremist and radicals of communist ideology who follows Pablo Iglesias, however in Spain there are not as many radicals as gathered in this political movement, it is a false argument, and the movement continues growing everyday.

PODEMOS only have one thing in mind, give the people the opportunity to express what they think all the time, not through a political party which establish a single pack of ideological thought and people vote once every 4 years and this party do whatever it wants. Actual President, Mr. Mariano Rajoy, has unfulfilled the 60 % of his electoral program doing the exact opposite.

All of this surrounded by corruption scandals in Government party and in the party in the opposition. No one is free of scandals right now.

PODEMOS is trying to give hope for people in this desperate political climate. Anyone CAN participate in the debates, no matter if they are from the Left-wing or from the Right-wing, Communist, Progressist, Conservative... as long as they have something to say, they will be heard in this party. And more important, this party will do as the assembly says, not as one particular person says.

A misconception commonly promoted by the party in the Government is that the party will do as Pablo Iglesias says (trying to deter people who thinks different from him, which is not difficult because he is quite active from the left-wing), when the truth is that he has the same weight inside the party as anybody else.

Fortunately, people from a more central ideology, the body mass of this Phoenix named Spain, that are not defined as Left-wing or Right-wing, are becoming conscious that they are the majority inside the party, and they CAN create their own electoral program.

Pablo Iglesias is just the match that will revive this Phoenix and it will fly with both wings.