The Rose of Fire has Returned

Description

The following article was written a few months ago after a huge, incendiary general strike in Spain on March 29. We post it here now, after May Day in Seattle, to show what kinds of things are actually possible elsewhere in the world… Think of it as inspiration.

In May 2011, tens of thousands occupied plazas throughout Spain in a protest movement that prefigured similar occupations around the world, including the Occupy movement in the United States. On March 29, 2012, a nationwide general strike erupted into massive street-fighting in Barcelona, as participants wrested control of the streets from riot police. How did this come to pass, and what can it tell us about what will follow the occupation movements outside Spain?

Here, [Crimethinc’s] Barcelona correspondent provides extensive background on the riots of March 29, tracing the trajectory from the plaza occupations to the general strike, and explores the questions that have arisen as anarchists face new opportunities and challenges.