By Carl Oliver in Spain
On International Women’s Day, March 8th, the world witnessed large mobilizations involving tens of thousands of women in dozens of countries around the world. Nowhere were the mobilization as big as they were in Spain, where they assumed a mass character and involved millions. The mobilizations in Spain were organized by feminist activists who called for a national strike of women and street protests. The result was very impressive with nearly 6 million strikers and as many people, if not more, taking to the streets in all major Spanish cities and even in smaller towns. In Madrid the main evening march drew out upwards of a million people.
The strike that was called had many aspects, including student walk-outs, cessation of domestic work, cessation of commercial activities and, most importantly, workplace strikes which significantly disrupted transportation, education, services as well commercial and productive activities. The mobilization had an unmistakable class nature and a strong anti-capitalist slant. In fact, the manifesto of the strike linked the oppression of women not only to patriarchy but also to capitalism. It highlighted its opposition to all forms of bigotry such as racism, homophobia and xenophobia. It not only demanded equal pay and equal opportunity but also opposed precarious work, worsening labour conditions and the erosion of pensions. It put an emphasis on racialized and immigrant working women and opposed war and imperialism.
The strike received the solid support of Podemos and some of the smaller militant trade union such as the CNT and CGT. The support of the larger unions like the CCOO and UGT was quite half-hearted and came under pressure, with the union leadership calling for only a two-hour stoppage of work. But what was more important than the support of this or that organization was the incredible outpouring of support at the popular level and the enthusiastic organizational efforts at the grassroots level. It was this grassroots mobilizing and initiative of ordinary workers and youth that more than anything else made the say such a success. The news paper El Pais did a survey in which it found out that 82 per cent of respondents (88 per cent of women and 77 per cent of men) supported the strike. These number are just incredible.
The question of violence and discrimination against women has been simmering in Spanish society for a while. In recent months, there has been widespread debate in the classrooms, in the cafes, bars and on TV about male violence and the numerous cases of women murdered by their partners, a total of 739 cases in the last decade alone. There has been a similar debate on the gap in salaries between the sexes, the lack of respect or the sexual harassment of female workers, the glass ceiling facing women in their careers and the domestic burden that women are expected to accept and carry quietly.
These issues are not unique to Spanish society but exist all around the world. What is unique here is that the struggle of women in Spain has become a catalyst for all the other grievances of society, especially with the feminist movement expanding its demands beyond just women’s issues to most other aspects of capitalist exploitation and abuse. Thus, it has become a protest against capitalism itself. This can be clearly seen from the opposition and attacks of the right-wing parties, such the ruling PP and Ciudadanos, who say that they ‘support feminism’ but oppose mixing it with the issue of capitalism. That shows that the ruling class are quite worried about this movement – and they should be. The tide is so strong that even members of the upper echelons of society have had to join the strike, including the mayors of Madrid and Barcelona.
What the ruling class want and what they are trying to do is to limit the struggle of women to formal equality on paper without linking it to wider social issues or the defects of capitalism itself. This is what they are basically saying in their papers and on television. They are threatened but feel powerless to confront the movement at the moment, so they have opted to the tried-and-tested method of trying to co-opt the movement by adopting some of its demands, while rejecting its most important revolutionary content. But many activists feel that formal equality on paper is not enough, and that measures of control to enforce their demands are necessary, and this gives the movement a revolutionary character as it aims at encroaching at the power of the capitalist class.
The Spanish capitalist class is one of the most reactionary in Europe. It is a class that came late on the scene of history, that was largely rural and has to this day retained a deeply undemocratic, patriarchal and semi-feudal attitude. This could be clearly seen recently from the violent way in which the Catalan independence movement was handled and historically from the way the Spanish bourgeoisie ran to general Franco to destroy the revolutionary republic. The restoration of democracy in the 70s left the old Francoist state in place and gave impunity to fascist criminals. It has for the most part made only cosmetic changes to the political structure of the state but in reality the same old mentality has continued to exist.
Putting aside the violent police repression of the Catalans that we saw recently, the Spanish state has grown more repressive in more subtle legalistic ways since the global financial crisis. It has been targeting activists and organizers with hefty fines and court injunctions while the police continue to harass immigrants. On top of that, Spanish politics have been in a state of deep crisis. Political corruption is widespread at every level of government, affecting both established parties of the right and left (PP and PSOE). Average Spaniards have little faith in formal politics, state institutions or political parties. The whole political system is discredited in the eyes of the majority. It often draws bitter ridicule and mockery.
The crisis of politics in Spain, the reactionary nature of the capitalist class, the unresolved question of national minorities, and the very high unemployment rate in many regions, is forcing youth to work precarious jobs with very bad conditions, to migrate to the big cities or to leave the country. All of these things are manifestations of the crisis of Spanish capitalism. On the other hand, Spain has had one of the most, if not the most, revolutionary working classes of the whole of Europe. Memories of of past revolutions and the Republic are still alive, despite what has been the determined attempt of the ruling class to make this subject a taboo as part of the deal of democratic restoration.
This mixture is explosive and lies behind the mobilizations of the 8th of March. Some commentators described what took place as “almost a revolution”. This was very much the situation and in fact what we saw could be a prelude to revolution in Spain, although that depends heavily on leadership. The feminist movement tapped into deep anger and revolutionary energy with the issues it raised and the demands it put forward. The mass response on the other hand showed a transformation in the collective consciousness. Karl Marx considered a step forward in the consciousness of the masses to be worth a hundred political programs. But a program, nonetheless, remains crucial. Therefore, what to do next is just as important as what has been done so far.
If no further steps are taken in organizing the next stage of the fight, then the energy could dissipate and the opportunity e lost. A women-only strike to show the role of women in society is an important step, but it is does not amount to strike in the full sense of the word. The point of a strike, and especially a national strike, is to cause the maximum disruption and to paralyze the whole economy and society. Thus, the next logical step is to organize a national general strike of all workers with the aim of overthrowing the PP government and forming a government of the left committed to implementing the demands of the 8th of March movement. Another massive blow like the one we saw a few days ago would not only lead to the collapse of the PP Government, but could even lead to the overthrow of the monarchy. Spanish capitalism itself would be hanging by a thread.
The political ideas of the 8th of March committee are not clear. It would seem logical that different members may have very different ideas, but it would be safe to assume that a significant part of the membership is anti-capitalist. The same anti-capitalist mood can clearly be seen at the grassroots level. The leadership of the feminist movement has the momentum now, which is very important, but ideologically clarity and further organizational initiative will be crucial. An alliance with the anti-capitalist parties such as Podemos and the United Left, and militant unions such as the CNT and UGT is necessary. It is also urgent to agitate among the ranks of the big unions to overthrow their rotten leadership and to replace them with a fresh fighting layer. By the same token, it is possible to push aside reformist and cynical elements in the leadership of the anti-capitalist parties.
The feminist movement must be congratulated for the amazing success of the 8th of March. Seeing hundreds of thousands of protesters marching in a wave of purple, led by women, is both inspiring and heart-warming. It is a historic moment that shows what is possible when the oppressed organize and mobilize to fight injustice. One has only to remember that it was the women of Petrograd who initiated the February 1917 demonstration that led to the revolutionary overthrow the Czar Nicholas of Russia and the subsequent seizure of power by the Russian proletariat. The women of Spain are perhaps destined to make history as well.
