The existence of committees against the celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of the conquest has therefore begun to upset the triumphal veneer that the Spanish government has erected
In December 1990, the Spanish State Committee Against the Five Hundredth Anniversary Celebration was founded with the participation of local committees from throughout the country. It has as its slogan "500 years of aggression, 500 years of resistance, for the emancipation of the peoples" . The campaign is focusing on 1992 and is preparing an alternative coun
SPANISH STATE ter summit and a popular forum. The first is planned for Madrid at the time of the Second Iberian-American summit. It is attempting to give a platform to voices from Latin American that will certainly not be heard at the official summit. The forum itself will have a popular character.
The Puerto Real summit
From October 9-12, 1992, artists, intellectuals, women, leaders of social movements and indigenous Latin Americans, as well as solidarity activists from the Spanish state and Europe, will gather in the small town of Puerto Real in the Cadiz region to discuss the reality of the problems of Latin America. A majority of the Puerto Real municipal government has lent its support, after organizing an open debate to decide on the character of the town's participation; 17 out of 22 municipal councilors voted in favor of city participation in the event.
Though they have not yet begun, these initiatives have already found an important echo. The majority of letters expressing solidarity with these events have come from individuals and organizations in Latin America and Europe who understand that these counter-celebrations represent solidarity with the Third World in general and Latin America in particular. This message is the antithesis of the official message of the five hundredth anniversary, the Seville Exposition, as well as that of the new capitalist Europe.
Another campaign is underway in the Spanish state under the title "Let's Unmask 1992". Its organizers have launched an appeal to respond to the costs of European unification and to the projects that the Spanish government is preparing in this framework. However coordination of activities against the five hundredth anniversary is, however, limited and the existence of the two committees has already caused confusion.
The April 20 demonstration against the Seville Exposition showed the problems. This demonstration was organized by the
"Lets Unmask 1992" campaign. it was supposed to be held with the participants of an international camp organized by this same committee near Seville. Local pressure including an enormous police presence would have dissuaded the organizations from marching but some of the participants in the camp did not hear about plans to cancel the march and around 400 people marched anyway.
The police version of the events is totally false. They claim that the demonstrators were organized provocateurs who intended to sabotage the inaugaration of the Exposition. In any event, the right to demonstrate and protest must not be restricted, certainly not by the police.
A period of lower solidarity
Beyond the Seville incidents there have been difficulties tied to the current situation. We are living in a period of lower solidarity. In a poll conducted in1991, the majority of people interviewed knew very little about the five hundredth anniversary but were familiar with the Exposition or the Olympic games. Therefore, part of the offical message has been absorbed by the population: the five hundredth anniversary is being celebrated by looking to a technological future and turning our backs on a past full only of misery and unhappy legends.
The government and the mainstream parties have made a big effort in this direction. The commemorations of the five hundredth anniversary have become a matter of state. In his Christmas speech King Juan Carlos I made a passing reference to this unhappy past when he said that the "discovery" must be celebrated "without complexes" , which of course indicates that such "complexes" really do exist!
In spite of the efforts of the government the mask is beginning to fall and many have seen what is hidden behind it. The bullets fired by the police have contributed to this. The PSOE's convergence plan also allows some of the costs of this project to be perceived. Many in Latin America have for their part denounced for a long time the celebrations of the five hundredth anniversary. During his speech inaugurating the Seville Exposition, Felipe Gonzalez cited the supposed successes of the Exposition and of the government. Latin America which is supposed to be America which is supposed to be the great protagonist of this event was not mentioned once. Sooner or later there will be a reaction to this duplicity, cupidity and the repression it inevitably entails. * 1 1 1. See El Mundo, April 21, 1992.