France, Alternative Libertaire AL #236 - Spain: Marinaleda self in the Andalusian (fr, pt)

What happens to Marinaleda since 1979 far exceeds in importance the small Andalusian town 
of 3,000 inhabitants. An example to follow, enrich, expand worldwide. ---- While the major 
problem of countries that are said to "civilized" and "advanced" is "crisis" and massive 
unemployment, Marinaleda there is only 5% unemployment, against 30% in the rest of 
Andalusia. And everyone has a roof. At the cooperative makes city living, the workers work 
in a relaxed atmosphere, music and without leaders. They feel work for them. And their 
work is theirs. The production is first class, including olive oil, exported to Italy. 
---- A social experiment ---- The city officials could hardly be corrupted by their 
dependents: they do not touch a penny to occupy. They signed before a notary public 
commitment to be the first to act to bring about economic and social progress in 
Marinaleda and the last to benefit.

Rents for modern and spacious accommodations are 15, 52 euros per month. The nursery, 
including food, costs 12 euros per month per child. The annual subscription for the pool 
costs 3 euros. All municipal decisions are proposed at general meetings where the 
inhabitants and residents debate and vote, including children. There are a hundred general 
meetings per year. There are no offenders, no police and no fines .... And no capitalists, 
bankers and speculators, who are the legal offenders of economic liberalism.

Another thing is to remember: what happens in Marinaleda was achieved without violence, 
except that of the guardia civil , who came to oppose the people and inhabitants during 
the years when they struggled peacefully to get to work the land. In 1936, when 
pronunciamiento , Franco's military uprising, Franco murdered Republican Mayor Vicente 
Cejas, his son and three dozen residents of this small town.

A story to follow

The day laborers , the vast mass of landless laborers, are opposed to large estates , 
wealthy owners of huge properties, often fallow. The largest owner in the area of 
Marinaleda the Duke of Infantado. It has 17 000 hectares, which bring him a lot of money, 
because it affects Europe "aid", which amounted to two million euros per year in the 1980s.

After the death of General Franco, is based in Marinaleda in 1977 Sindicato de Obreros del 
Campo (Union of Workers of the Earth, SAT). It has 55 members from the beginning. Soon 
they will be 600. He will fight to sustain and decent living conditions for the 
population. First to get water and for the earth. As necessary, activists engage in 
political struggle. And won the first free elections since the end of Francoism. In 1979, 
Juan Manuel S?nchez Gordillo, a teacher born in 1952, becomes the youngest mayor 
Marinaleda Spain. In his office, the Republican flag replaces the royal flag, Che Guevara 
portrait of the king's. Mayor wearing a red shirt and a Palestinian scarf. He happened to 
be beaten by the police. Twice organizations of the extreme right have tried to 
assassinate him.

He claims to be inspired by the example of Che, Christ, Gandhi and Andalusian anarchists. 
After his election, the struggle for land will continue for years, with farm occupations, 
road blockades, line railway, airport ... The action focuses in particular on the grounds 
of the Duke of Infantado . They are defended by the guardia civil, police regime. 
Countless lawsuits are brought against the protesters, who suffer violence including 
physical repression. The Mayor will make the prison. And will be constantly re-elected and 
since his first election.

By dint of peaceful protests, a victory is won. In 1991, the Spanish government buys the 
Duke in 1259 hectares of agricultural land and remit to the municipality of Marinaleda. 
They will be grown as a cooperative. Every employee, regardless of his position, now 
reaches 47 euros for 6 and a half hours of work per day, 7 to 14 hours. The average salary 
in Andalusia is 30 to 35 euros per day.

The work is divided. If, for example, there 200 workers and need 50, is made of four 
teams, each working 50 turns for one week. And everyone is paid for four weeks of work. 
When there is a temporary increase in workload, we hire outside workers. It does not 
increase the intensity or the usual working hours of the inhabitants of the cooperative 
Marinaleda. If profits are made, they are not distributed but are used to create new jobs.

When unemployment appears with the onset of the economic crisis from 2008, it applies that 
each family Marinaleda has at least one job in the cooperative so that it is not left 
destitute. The principle is that everyone has the right to eat. And also housing. The 
municipality expropriated amount of land around the city, then made freely available to 
poor housing in the city. Building materials are provided through support of the state and 
the region. The municipality pays an architect and skilled workers. Plans of the 
architect, the future inhabitants of the whole house may propose amendments. Once housed, 
they just pay 15.52 euros per month to repay construction materials. The result of this 
self-build policy is one third of the inhabitants of Marinelada is housed in more than 300 
houses.

And today?

Other action: in August 2012, with 400 union activists SAT, Mayor expropriated food 
staples in two supermarkets in the region. It was distributed to homeless Seville 
squatting a building block. During the same summer, wishing to offer more land to 
cultivate, the mayor of Marinaleda with activists unionists SAT, served for eighteen days 
the farm Las Turquillas Osuna, belonging to the Spanish army. Fallow, just twenty horses 
live there. Occupying and occupants were chased by the police.

In November 2013, the court sentenced the region for this occupation Marinaleda Mayor and 
the Secretary General of the SAT Diego Ca?amero a very large fine and seven months in 
prison. After the confiscation of food made in August 2012, the Spanish Minister of the 
Interior has blasted this action by saying that there were certainly problems, but we 
should not react well, because it would be "the law of jungle. "

Basile (friend AL)