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	An Impression of the Youth Democracy Movement in Spain an article by Suvi Recently I visited Madrid in Spain on holiday and witnessed demonstrations of young people in the center of the city. The demonstrators had been sleeping outside in tents in the Prado area to protest the policies of the banking industry. As I walked through the city center, I noticed that many of the ATM machines had red paint and slogans written on them. In addition, in front of the Ministry of Finance, I saw a painted slogan that said “No one represents us!” I am sure that the young people had something to do with the existence of these new paint creations. click on photo to enlarge While the demonstrators were still asleep, the sanitation workers came to erase some of the paint. They seemed annoyed to have their pictures taken while cleaning the paintings. The protesters blamed the banks and other financial institutions for economic policies that caused the economic recession. The young persons said that after the banks were bailed out with taxpayer money the government and the financial institutions did not adopt any alternative strategies to avoid a repeat of the financial chaos. The demonstrators also stated that they wanted to create a real democracy which represented their interests and not the interest of the financial institutions. The demonstrators came from many different parts of the country, walking in some cases several hundred kilometers. They were a diverse group – some unemployed, others students, and yet others who were working. People who sympathized with the young protesters and shared their ideals also joined their ranks. Some demonstrators stated they planned to walk to Brussels to express their views and join with other like minded individuals and groups. They seemed determined to promote change that will not adversely effect the innocent victims of what the demonstrators perceived as reckless policies of the banks and other financial institutions. http://international.democraciarealya.es.		DISCUSSION Question(s) related to this article: The Arab spring of 2011 Can it inspire democratic movements around the world? Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - DÉVELOPPEMENT DE LA COMMUNAUTE
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