Escrache is a type of direct action demonstration which involves publicly harassing public figures, usually by congregating around their homes, chanting and publicly shaming them. In Argentina the term was coined by the human rights group HIJOS, to condemn the genocides committed by members of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional who were pardoned by Carlos Menem.
¡Democracia Real YA!, also known as Plataforma Democracia Real Ya!, is a Spanish grassroots organization that started in March 2011 in Madrid, Spain. It sparked the political movement of May 15, 2011 (15M) whose protests gained worldwide attention. The protests been compared to the May 1968 social movement in France.
According to WHO's 2016 suicide report, Spain ranked 130th of the 170 countries listed. Spain had an overall suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people, less than most other countries in Europe The reason behind this is unknown; among the many reasons put forward it has been argued that Southern European Mediterranean countries are less prone to suicide for cultural reasons, such as ease of socialisation, deeper religious beliefs that consider suicide as a sin, or just favourable weather conditions rendering less likely seasonal depression. This is consistent with the fact that other southern European countries such as Italy, Greece or Portugal, share a similar low suicidal rate as compared with northern countries. However, exceptions exist since Hungary, a relatively southern country, ranks high in suicidal rates.
The 2015 Spanish local elections were held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect all 67,515 councillors in the 8,122 municipalities of Spain and all 1,040 seats in 38 provincial deputations. The elections were held simultaneously with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities, as well as elections in the three foral deputations of the Basque Country, the four island councils in the Balearic Islands and the seven island cabildos in the Canary Islands.
Ada Colau Ballano is a Spanish activist and politician who was Mayor of Barcelona between 2015 and 2023. On 13 June 2015 she was elected Mayor of Barcelona, the first woman to hold the office, as part of the citizen municipalist platform, Barcelona En Comú. Colau was one of the founding members and spokespeople of the Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH), which was set up in Barcelona in 2009 in response to the rise in evictions caused by unpaid mortgage loans and the collapse of the Spanish property market in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Barcelona en Comú is a political party launched initially as a grouping of electors in June 2014. Its policy agenda includes defending social justice and community rights, promoting participatory democracy, introducing mechanisms to tackle corruption, and developing a new model of tourism for Barcelona.
The 2015 Barcelona City Council election, also the 2015 Barcelona municipal election, was held on Sunday, 24 May 2015, to elect the 10th City Council of the municipality of Barcelona. All 41 seats in the City Council were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
Málaga Ahora is a citizen platform of popular unity, formed as an instrumental party without organic internal life, in order to contest the municipal elections of 2015 in the city of Málaga.
En Comú Podem is an electoral coalition in Catalonia, originally formed in October 2015 by Unidas Podemos, Barcelona en Comú, Initiative for Catalonia Greens, United and Alternative Left, and Equo, and led by the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, to contest the 2015 Spanish general election.
Catalunya en Comú, previously Un País en Comú and collectively dubbed as Comuns, is a Catalan-based political party established in December 2016 as an umbrella for Barcelona en Comú, Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV), United and Alternative Left (EUiA), Podemos and Equo, which until then had been collaborating through electoral alliances under the Catalunya Sí que es Pot and En Comú Podem labels in the September 2015 regional and December 2015 and June 2016 general elections.
Consuelo Gloria Morales Elizondo is a Mexican human rights activist, founder and director of the organization Ciudadanos en Apoyo a los Derechos Humanos, A.C. (CADHAC), known in English as Citizens in Support of Human Rights.
Mònica Bernabé Fernández is a Spanish journalist known for her work as a correspondent in Afghanistan, where she lived for nearly eight years.
Francisca "Paquita" Sauquillo Pérez del Arco is a Spanish lawyer and politician known for her activism as a labor lawyer and in defense of democratic liberties during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. She has been a deputy of the Assembly of Madrid (1983–1994), a Senator (1983–1994) and a member of the European Parliament (1994–2004). Since 1985, she has been president of the NGO Movement for Peace, Disarmament, and Freedom (MPDL). Since May 2016, she has presided as Commissioner of Historical Memory of the City Council of Madrid.
Sobiranistes is a political party of the republican and Catalan sovereigntist left, formed by a splinter group from Catalunya en Comú (CatComú) led by Joan Josep Nuet and Elisenda Alamany, deputies in the Parliament of Catalonia.
The Jaime Brunet International Prize was established in 1998 with the objective of distinguishing people, organizations and institutions that promote the defence of human rights. It is awarded by the Jaime Brunet Foundation of the UPNA. This award also aims to recognize the work of those who fight to eliminate situations of inhumane or degrading treatment in violation of people's inherent rights to dignity. The prize consists of a diploma, a sculpture commemorating the award and €36,000 in cash.
Elisenda Alamany i Gutiérrez is a Spanish teacher and politician, currently serving as a member of the City Council of Barcelona, since June 2019. From January 2018 to April 2019 she was a deputy in the 12th Legislature of the Parliament of Catalonia. Initially part of the coalition Catalunya en Comú–Podem, she was the spokesperson for its parliamentary group from 18 January to 29 October 2018. In October 2018, she promoted the platform Sobiranistes (Sovereigntists) as a criticism of the leadership of En Comú Podem. In February 2019 she left the parliamentary group but kept her seat. On 24 February 2019, she announced the creation of the party Nova.
Rafael "Rafa" Mayoral Perales is a Spanish politician, lawyer and activist. A member of Podemos, he has served as MP in the 11th, 12th and 13th terms of the Congress of Deputies representing Madrid.
Squatting in Spain refers to the occupation of unused or derelict buildings or land without the permission of the owner. In Francoist Spain migrant workers lived in slums on the periphery of cities. During the Spanish transition to democracy, residential squatting occurred in Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza. From the 1980s onwards a new generation of squatters set up self-managed social centres which hosted events and campaigns. The 1995 Criminal Code among other things criminalised squatting, but failed to stop it. Social centres exist across the country and in Barcelona and Madrid in particular. In the Basque Country they are known as gaztetxes.
On 16 February 2021, the Catalan rapper Pablo Hasél was arrested and imprisoned in his hometown of Lleida, Catalonia for two final sentences by order of the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid: a 2-year prison sentence for glorification of terrorism in his songs and a second sentence of 9 months in prison for glorification of terrorism in a song and several tweets, as well as a fine of 10,800 euros for Lèse-majesté and another of 6,750 euros for insulting state institutions, which add up to days in prison for each instalment he fails to pay. His imprisonment sparked a wave of protests and has coincided with the government's announcement of a reform of crimes related to freedom of expression.
