Hundreds of thousands formed a sea of people that literally took over the centre of Madrid in what was called the March for Change. Podemos (the new Spanish left party that formed last year) wanted to measure their forces and today they can say that they are a serious alternative to government. With emotional speeches and the change they dream of delivered to demonstrators, Puerta del Sol in Madrid experienced “the day of change,” an expression used in several speeches that closed the rally.
Complete speech by Pablo Iglesias in the March for Change. Images by Podemos, to whom we are grateful for their collaboration.
By G.Amaya and F. Barrago. –
Carried by wings the Podemos leaders arrive to the podium. The tone of the speeches is festive; the different speakers put the emphasis on joy, on the celebration of the rally achieved. “Impressive, impressive,” are the first words spoken from the platform on which the Podemos leaders speak. These are the words of Luis Alegre, Secretary of Citizen Participation, on seeing from above the thousands and thousands of attentive faces. More than three hundred thousand people have participated in this March for Change according to the organisers. It’s been a while since Madrid saw such collective hope.
Alegre recalled that, “this Square isn’t only where the Police have had to come to find delinquents (pointing to the building which houses the Presidency of the Madrid local government), this Square is where so many times we have come to demand healthcare… education for all… But today we aren’t asking, we aren’t demanding… 2015 is the year of change, the year in which we are going to recover the institutions and put them at the service of the people… and we are smiling because we’re going to win.”
In turn, Juan Carlos Mondero, addressing the people of Spain said, “Welcome to the smile, welcome to change, welcome to hope,” and paraphrasing Lorca, alluding to the opposition attacks received, he added, “… your hate, our smile.” His entire speech is poetic, and in that tone he recalled León Felipe when he said, “how long the night… but the light returns.” He continued by recalling that Podemos arose from the 15M movement in a clear nod to the movement that stirred consciences and organisations in the country. But he didn’t forget the older generations, thanking them for having brought democracy.
He finished his speech on a wave of enthusiasm, exclaiming, “Because we are the majority, we are joy. You are the longing for the sea that we promised… that we wanted to navigate. We come to win and we have won already. Yes, we can!”
Iñigo Errejón in a more political tone said, “In our country the pact of coexistence has been broken and it wasn’t us who broke it, it was they who have not done their part.” Later he repeated the same message that they are not there to ask for anything, rather to return power to the people.
And he extended his hand once more – something that the Podemos leaders do on all occasions that they present themselves – to all possible voters explaining, “It doesn’t matter from where you come, you are our people. It doesn’t matter where we came from. It matters the direction we’re walking in, it matters where we’re going, towards a free country.” And subsequently, alluding to the plea they constantly hear of, “Don’t fail us,” Errejón said, “We aren’t going to fail but the people trust themselves, let’s not fail each other! Today we promise not to fail!”
The last to speak was Pablo Iglesias, Podemos General Secretary, and he started his speech by saying, “How nice, how nice it is to see people making history.” Iglesias spoke at length, a speech positioned from a feeling that he sees himself as an alternative to power. He started making a detour through history, giving thanks to the people of Madrid who in 1808 went to the streets to defend what was theirs, making clear that it wasn’t Kings, for example, who gave the people their rights, but rather they were fought for, just as young people did after the 15th of May 2011 when they shouted, “You don’t represent us!”. The thanks were extensive, just as Mondero had done a few minutes earlier, to all those who fought for Democracy in Spain in acknowledgement of the so many fighters who came from the “traditional” left.
Iglesias developed his speech supported on an image that recalled Martin Luther King, with the line, “Today we are dreaming here but we take our dreams very seriously.” Adding, “Dreams have to be worked on and we will do it in 2015. We are going to win the elections from the PP [the Partido Popular currently in government].”
After speaking about Greece and the recent Syriza victory, recounting the measures in favour of the people that the Greek government has implemented in just one week of power, he reminded everyone that it’s a different process in Spain saying, “Those who dream seriously, can change things… but no one can do the work for others.” And he noted that today the Italian and French governments have invited Merkel to put limits.
His speech could not overlook the corruption that has set root in the country and later on he asked, “Let’s not allow Spain to be a “brand”… our country is the people.”
Iglesias started to show where the measures that he would take would go if he were to ascend to power finishing his speech with, “it’s the year of change, we can dream and we can conquer.”
In a quick evaluation, March organisers this afternoon declared in a press release that, “besides its massive quality, the success of the convocation lies in having been lifted up by the commitment of the people, hundreds of thousands of citizens coming from very different political backgrounds, who today have shared the spirit of hope that has flown through the streets of the capital.”
Today we felt Iglesias convinced that he can win after seeing the size of the mobilisation. Hopefully it’s the notice of change that the population of this country and all of Europe needs.
