A picture of Spanish society for Settlement movement. Autumn 2013

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Population and singularities

● Population:

– Near 47 million people

– Emigration (grew by 400 000 people in 2011 officially)

– Growing interest on country side but no moving there happening

● Specific trends in Spain:

– No clear increase in extreme right support

– Catalan and Basque identities

Source: National Statistics Institute, El Pais 1, El Pais 2

Unemployment in Spain

Source: International university of La Rioja

● Regional variation

● Signs in Autumn 2013 that job destruction has stopped

Positive response: local currencies

● Small phenomena

● Examples

– Puma (Sevilla)

– RES (Cataluña)

Number of currencies in area. Image captured from Life without employment, http://mapa.vivirsinempleo.org/map/

Unemployment and poverty

● Active people: 23 millions (60% of 16 years old and over)

● Unemployment (25,98%, 55% youngest)

● 26,8% of Spanish people lives in poverty and social exclusion

● 630.000 households without income

Sources: National Statistics Institute, National Spanish Radio and Television (RTVE)

Caritas

● 1,900,000 people attended in 2012 in Spain

● Local Caritas 30th October in media:

– Refuses social mark by local government

● Private donations would get 40% tax discount

● The organization would have been assessed by government

– Quotes:

● ”one more step in privatization of the support of the weak” ”we don't agree with this in any way”

● ”is it the moment to give tax reductions?”

● ”Caritas needs independence from government”

● ”Caritas is advancing public social rents since government pays them late: is the government in a position to assess the work of social NGOs?”

Source: Noticas de Navarra, Diario de Navarra

Housing movement

● Movement of Mortgage Victims PAH

● PAH has stopped 825 evictions

● It has relocated 712 people in houses owned by banks and occupied by PAH members. The European Court of Human Rights stopped the eviction of an occupied bloc of apartments in October

● Own successful popular legislative initiative for a non-recourse mortgage law

● It has organized polemical demonstrations in front of the houses of politicians

● European citizien prize 2013, National Human Rights Prize 2013 Source: Spanish Wikipedia

Wealth, financing and innovation

● Capital outflow has stopped this year 2013

● Biggest rents grew to 7 times smallest

● mean rents -4%, prices +10% (2001-2007)

● saving rate peaked in 2009 now below pre-crisis rates

● Financing difficulties for small enterprises

● I+D investment below European average: I+D below 1,5% GDP (avg. Europe over 2% GDP)

Sources: RTVE, National Statistics Institute, El Pais

Ethical banks

● Duch Triodos Bank working in Spain since 2003

– 130,000 clients (6/2013)

– 21% growth in the first semester of 2013

– 5,900 millions € of balance sheet

● Fiare bank project since 2003

– Offers products of Italian Banca Etica

– It is now merging with Banca Etica

– 33.5 millions € of savings (31/12)

– 4.3 millions € of capital (8/13)

– 4,400 cooperative members

● Ethics

● Transparency

● Communication - Information

● Trust

● Self-managed teams

● Freedom

● Responsibility

● Making decisions together● Vision for the future● Solidarity● NO paid overtime● Dividing up the harvest● NO layoffs● Integrated into society

● New Style of Relationships (NER, style = ”estilo” in Spanish). 14 organizations, 1338 people, 279 Mill. € in sales. What units them:

Governance

● Reforms on education, labor markets

● Cuts and privatizations

– Affecting a lot NGOs

● Corruption affecting central, regional and local governments; opposition party; labor unions; firms

National identities

● Issues concerning:

– language of education

– financing of regional governments

– independence aspirations

– imprisonment and court cases

Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:11s2012_Arc_de_Triomf.JPG

Citiziens' Tide

● Union of different movements, popularly known as ”tides” of different colors

● Against cuts and for democracy

● Participating are also 15M “indignados” groups

● Most prominent:

– White tide: against health system privatization

– Green tide: against cuts in education

Source: Spanish wikipedia, Marea Ciudadana

Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puertadelsol2011.jpg

Other setlements­like organizatiations

● Emmaus Spain

● Once fundation (disabilities)

● Proyecto Hombre (drug use)

● Local and national youth, educational and cultural organizations

● Local and national social organizations

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