Abstract
This introduction frames the main changes in the political sphere since the Great Recession that began in 2007–2008, including the 15M Movement in 2011 and concluding with the general elections in Andalusia in 2018. The chapter also emphasizes the transformation of the political imaginary, which entails a critical look at the process surrounding the Second Bourbon Restoration, as well as a critique of the mainstream cultural phenomena from that period, especially the hedonism and depoliticization associated with la Movida in Madrid during the 1980s. Some important aspects include new processes of self-managed initiatives, new political agents and political parties, the problematic accommodation of the diverse cultural nations that make up Spain and the economic and political integration of Spain in Europe. Chapter summaries are also included.
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- 1.
We follow Alberich in writing “15M” without a hyphen, which is how the actual Movement referred to itself (for instance, in its own publications). The oft-used hyphenated form “15-M” is the standard Spanish acronym for May 15, the date the Movement started in 2011. Here, however, we are alluding to the Movement, not the date (Alberich 275).
- 2.
According to ‘a conservative estimate’ by Perugorría, Shalev and Tejerina, mobilizations ‘reached a peak on June 19, with 250,000 people demonstrating in the streets of several Spanish cities’ (169, 184). Based on the available data from field studies, it seems that most of the 15M’s main activists were middle-class people between 26 and 36 years old, either employed or studying. Along with such youths were also people from their parents’ generation, dismayed at their children’s future prospects (Monge Lasierra, 15M Un movimiento político 76).
- 3.
Although the expression “transition to democracy” is widely used when alluding to the years after general Francisco Franco’s death, we believe “Second Bourbon Restoration” better reflects what actually happened politically after the dictator’s death. As Constitutional Law professor Javier Pérez Royo states, the ‘restored Monarchy would be the one that would direct the operation of transiting from the [dictatorship’s] Fundamental Laws to the 1978 Constitution […]. [T]he Operation of establishing a Democracy would be subordinated to ensuring the success of the Operation of Restoration of the Monarchy.’
- 4.
The term refers to the powerful group formed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission (EC).
- 5.
This party was founded at the beginning of 2014 and was able to get the support of close to 8% in the elections to the European Parliament a few months later. In the General Elections of 2016, Podemos established a coalition with the United Left (IU) becoming the third largest political group in the Spanish Parliament.
- 6.
In the English-speaking world, the initial celebratory reception of la Movida seems to reveal a spontaneous coordination of the habitus of production and reception (corresponding to a homology of social positions) between creators and critics largely accustomed to seeing and omitting many of the same things—with some notable exceptions, such as Eduardo Subirats and a few others. Today, however, the critique of la Movida has become less celebratory and more ambidextrous. Indeed, as Nichols and Song have noted, the general absence of a rigorous and sustained class analysis with regard to this period is simply baffling (8). Nevertheless, scholars residing in the English-speaking world have often been reluctant to set forth an overall assessment of la Movida, often weighing its pros and cons carefully. In Spain, by contrast, while critics on the Left tend to value the contributions of specific creators (such as the writers for La bola de cristal or Basque Radical Rock groups such as La Polla Records), their overall assessment of la Movida and its consequences—as well as their assessment of what Martínez calls the Culture of the Transition in general—has been far less forgiving. This is illustrated by recent films, such as El futuro by López Carrasco, and by recent essay books, such as Lenore’s.
- 7.
For the distinction between authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, see Linz.
- 8.
They lost close to 300,000 votes if we compare the results with the support they obtained in 2015 when they ran separately.
- 9.
On a similar note, see Poch.
- 10.
See, for instance, Monge Lasierra (“Segunda Transición”).
- 11.
The journalist Pascual Serrano maintains that the decline of traditional media, combined with technologies that lower production costs, opens new possibilities for a new journalism. And as Serrano argues, the creation of more than 300 new media outlets after 2011 confirms that Spanish journalists have accepted the challenge. Looking for common patterns and with an eye toward the future, Serrano states that the recipe for success combines the following ingredients: a full voice for readers and support groups, employee participation at all levels, greater transparency in financial reporting, salary differences kept to a minimum and, finally, strategies to prevent persons or groups from taking control of the new outlets (229–255).
- 12.
The concept of “imaginary” is a complex one, not only due to the variety of its sources but also because of its widespread and ambiguous use. To simplify the matter, we can use the following definition as a point of reference: ‘the “imaginary” is one of a family of terms that denote semiotic systems that shape lived experience in a complex world’ (Sum and Jessop 26). To this we should add that the notion of “semiotic system” indicates, on the one hand, that imaginaries play a central role in the intersubjective production of meanings, and, on the other, that semiotic analysis, provided it is put at the service of historical research, offers useful tools and categories to understand, analyze and intervene in the processes of selection and decantation of information. That is, everything related to semiotics has to be subsumed under the Aristotelian view of rhetoric. When people communicate—and not only to persuade others, but also themselves—culture is updated and transformed. Culture and rhetoric are no more than two different ways of contemplating the same phenomenon, that of human beings interacting in a social system.
- 13.
The term comes from Fraser: ‘progressive neoliberalism is an alliance of mainstream currents of new social movements (feminism, anti-racism, multiculturalism, and LGBTQ rights), on the one side, and high-end “symbolic” and service-based business sectors (Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood), on the other. In this alliance, progressive forces are effectively joined with the forces of cognitive capitalism, especially financialization.’ This political construct is a progressive variant of identity politics.
- 14.
The pro-independence parties obtained 70 out of 135 seats and formed a new government, but were unable to secure the majority of the votes.
- 15.
For instance, see the volume edited by Domínguez Rama.
- 16.
For the difference between symbiotic, interstitial and ruptural approaches, see Wright.
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Pereira-Zazo, Ó., Torres, S.L. (2019). Introduction: After the 15M. In: Pereira-Zazo, Ó., Torres, S. (eds) Spain After the Indignados/15M Movement. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19435-2_1
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