The title of this article states that life expectancy is different
depending on the neighbourhood in which we live. We have already writtenwith this perspective and from different points of view on previous
occasions. We emphasize this because the data in circulation confirm it:
"A resident of Boadilla del Monte has a life expectancy of 86.1 years,
while one from Parla lives on average 82.5 years." If we compare these
life expectancies between the towns in the north of the Community of
Madrid and those in the south, the latter come out losing.
It is obvious that we are talking about social inequality and
precariousness: we live less because we live worse.
We are talking about the objective and
subjective quality of life, that which we call happiness. The degree of
happiness
of the inhabitants of the towns in the
north of the CAM is directly
related to factors such as the
natural environment, income and public services available to them.
According to the CIS, Madrid has a
happiness score of 7.28 out of 10. These data are global, we do not have
them town by town.
However, the issue of
differences in life expectancy gives us clues as to
where these figures may go, if they are found. It can be hypothesized
that in geographical areas
anywhere in Spain
where income levels are higher, as well as the
quality of their services, happiness increases. In the case of
Madrid, comparing the towns in the north and south, the north wins.
Why?
The main causes of the difference in life expectancy
between the north and south of Madrid are due to
factors that are closely related:
l Economic inequality: municipalities in the south have lower annual
incomes than those in the
north. This affects access to essential resources and services such as
health and
education. l Working conditions: the south has lower employment rates,
less stable and precarious jobs, which
correlates with health problems
in the medium and long term.
l Health: health services
vary both in terms of
facilities and access to
such medical services.
* Environmental quality is not
the same in the north as in the south.
In the south there is a higher population density and much more pollution
due to industrial concentration.
* The most prosperous areas usually
have more options for a healthy life.
From below we must
build the society
that we want for
the future, we will fight
relentlessly but
we will also raise
alternatives
We live worse because we are segregated and confined in places
that lack resources that guarantee equal opportunities.
We are talking about capitalism, of course. This system has always
generated ghettos under different forms of
presentation. Even though today most of the working class does not
define itself as such and uses the
qualifier of middle class, the truth is that if the income does not
accompany us,
we go on to occupy the position that the
relations of capitalist domination have assigned to us, whether we like
it or not.
We do not put up with these living conditions
by magic, but because
we are part of the exploited class
whose fundamental rights are ignored, among other things because we neither
demand them nor defend them when we already have them.
The confrontation of this situation
in which our life span is questioned, something that is certainly
not new nor does it surprise us, has
two approaches, one reformist and the other
certainly revolutionary. What would the reformist approach
require? Public policies aimed at reducing
social inequalities, increasing
investments in
public services and
programs that alleviate the deficiencies
mentioned above:
investing in health,
something that is practically abandoned at the public level,
at least in primary care, increasing
health personnel and healthcare infrastructures;
affordable social housing policies, mainly
in rent; job sharing; programs that support low-income families. These
measures could be palliative in the short and medium term
of the evil we are experiencing. Now, the question we ask ourselves
is why are the public authorities
going to do all this if no one is
demanding it? We have a problem of
deficiency in quality of life and also a serious problem of deficiency
in our capacity to fight
that is a hindrance when it comes to
achieving improvements, however small they may be. What is proposed is a
possibilist approach, but there is another, based on solidarity, mutual
support and self-organization of the
class.
We know what our basic needs are and the consequences that their deficit
generates in our
lives. From there, once the problem is defined, the next step is to look
for solutions. There is no transformation without action. In the
southern towns, civil society should organize itself outside the
political class,
the institutions and, after making
an inventory of its own resources,
plan short, medium and long-term actions. We start from the principle
that "we want everything",
although we are patient and will apply
the most convenient tactic at each moment according to our strengths.
Reformist demands are compatible, such as demanding that the authorities
return what they take from us,
both at work and through taxes: we do not ask, we demand what is
ours. But in addition, we self-organize because we know that
any right we obtain
must be maintained over time and
those same authorities will take advantage of any opportunity or sign of
weakness on our part to take it away from us, that has been their
historical task. Rights must be defended
if they are not to be lost. From below
we must build the society that
we want for the future, we will fight
without respite but we will also raise nearby alternatives in health,
employment, leisure, environmental, cultural... We will do it from
our interests, without giving up on our efforts. We want to self-manage
education, health, the social and
cultural life of our people.
That is our vision. We have to
get going. Our lives depend on it.
Ángel E. Lejarriaga
https://rojoynegro.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/393-ryn_compressed-4.pdf
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten