From The Internation Journal of Socialist Renewal.
By Dick Nichols, Barcelona
April 1, 2012 -- Green
Left Weekly/Links
International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Since the
global economic crisis broke out in 2008, the many-sided protest
movement against neoliberal austerity has yet to gain enough strength
to force any real retreats from governments doing the bidding of
capitalism’s ruling elites.
But the March 29 general strike against the
new labour law in Spain — hugely supported and backed by often vast
demonstrations in 111 cities and towns — could well point to a
turning of the tide. It lifted social resistance in Europe to a new
height and gave millions of people a glimpse of how they might
finally make the country’s corrupt and arrogant powers-that-be pay
for their crisis.
The right-wing media screamed “flop”,
but the behaviour of the finance markets told the real story: on
strike day the Madrid stock exchange lost nearly 1% (its eighth
straight day of losses) and the premium on Spanish public debt rose
further over the Italian debt premium that only recently exceeded it.
The Popular Party (PP) government of Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy is trying to appear calm and above the
turmoil. Rajoy commented that, while his government respected the
right of citizens to protest, he has no choice but to carry on with
the grim duty of implementing the tough policies needed to rescue
Spain’s economy. He then introduced into parliament the most brutal
budget since the Franco dictatorship ended in the late 1970s. The
Madrid stock exchange rose 1.23%
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