About a dozen Spanish students living in Brighton and Hove set up camp in the Old Steine overnight in solidarity with a mass protest in Madrid.
It came after their second protest in two days about spending cuts and unemployment in Spain in the wake of the banking crisis and is also about political corruption.
Today they will lead a demo for “real democracy” in Churchill Square, Brighton, at 4pm.
They will then march along Western Road to Palmeira Square, Hove, then back along the seafront to the Old Steine.
About a hundred young people, mostly Spaniards, gathered in Churchill Square on Friday (20 May).
A similar number joined a second protest yesterday in the Old Steine, which had a more international flavour and ended with about a dozen people taking part in the overnight camp.
They want to show solidarity with about 25,000 to 30,000 protesters – who have been called los indignados (the indignant) – in the Spanish capital.
There, the protesters have spent a week camped in the city’s main square, the Puerto del Sol (also known as the Plaza del Sol).
Defied
They have defied orders to leave the square before the local and regional elections which are being held across Spain today.
It is illegal in Spain to demonstrate the day before an election although the current protests are aimed at the political class rather than an individual party. The protesters have urged electors not to vote for either of the two main political parties.
In Brighton, students and supporters started work on preparing flyers, banners and placards from 11am in readiness to gather in Churchill Square at 4pm today.
Spokesman Paula Mata urged students and others who care about Spain to join the demo.
She said that there was a bigger camp in London as well as more camps in Bristol and a number of other British cities.
In Spain the protests have spread to about 60 cities and around the world there are about 500 similar protests taking place.
Paula, 24, from Asturias, in northern Spain, is working for an online marketing company during a six-month internship while studying at Alicante University.
She said that the idea for a Brighton protest started on Thursday evening and quickly spread on Facebook and Twitter.
The protesters website – Spanish Revolution Brighton – includes updates and further details.
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Everyone is welcome to join us, regardless of their nationalities, because the movement has already turned global.
Come along, discuss and give ideas.
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http://spanishrevolutionbrighton.wordpress.com/
Democracy is a myth and it always has been, and it will remain so as long as the mighty banking, financial and industrial monopolies continue to run this world. Ask yourselves one question. Who is it supplies the bread that goes under the name of government borrowing, and who controls whether or not the loans are made? You think you have freedom of choice and speech, and the right to protest or demonstrate against what you consider to be injustice; dream on, the rude awakening is that the parameters within which those things are permitted are slowly closing. Those who hold the high cards will stop at nothing to eliminate those who as much as the threaten their power and glory.
The proof of what I’ve written here can be found on thousands of websites, so it’s not privileged information; it just goes unnoticed most of the time.