CATALONIA ---- “Los que mandan tienen miedo de aquellos que desobedecen” | esther vivas

“Los que mandan tienen miedo de aquellos que desobedecen” | esther vivas

"The powers that be are afraid of those who disobey"

Forcades Teresa and Esther Vivas, co-authors of 'Fearless'.

Brais Benitez | LaMarea

Teresa Forcades, Montserrat Benedictine nun and doctor of public health and theology, and Esther Vivas, journalist and social activist, Catalonia walking for months in order to add more people to push for a constitutional process that forces a change in economic, political system and social. During the meetings of the Constituent Process, the need to raise awareness of the violence of the system, and the loss of rights and freedoms that is occurring in the context of the crisis.

The Icaria Editorial just published in Castilian Fearless work, a dialogue between Forcades and Live in reflecting on the causes of the current crisis, who gains and who is losing, and also propose alternatives, encourage the action, to mobilize and to disobey unjust policies change. The society slowly begins to lose their fear, they say, and this must be the key to the exit from the crisis meets the needs of the majority rather than as makers want current policies, to reinforce the privileges of few.

How can you lose the fear when you are in an increasingly precarious situation?

TF: Of fears are of many types and for many reasons. The book's title refers to a very specific fear: political fear, fear to rise to defend the freedoms and dignity. This is lost opening his eyes and going to the bottom: What do I want? How I want to live and why? This awareness begins for each of a different form, but only deepens taking part, along with others, in the concrete struggles. Lose the fear is not to lose modesty or humility, is not to be believed in possession of absolute truth.

EV. Lately we have seen people out on the street, disobey unjust laws and policies, and that these actions have the support of large sections of society. Therefore we say that the fear begins to we switch sides, because at the same time, from government bodies stigmatized those who struggle, they are repressed, as we have seen recently with the new Public Safety Act and the Criminal Code Amendment . It shows that the rulers are afraid of those who disobey, as their policies may not apply clipping for good, the bad apply.

The book begins by noting that we are at a crossroads. What we can come back and forward?

TF: Behind have capitalism with a human face: it has always been a fallacy and now is no longer credible. They say it's always been a fallacy does not mean that the rights we had in the 80s were not real, that means enjoying that in the third world had dictatorships or war. What is a fallacy to assert that capitalism may favor a majority, has always favored only a few.

What may come forward depends on the role that we play, if we subtract passive, what will come is more than what we already have, accumulation of wealth and privilege for the few and suffering, destruction and death for most.

EV: We must be very clear that we will not leave as we entered this crisis. The crisis is used as an opportunity by the economic elites, which have the support of most of the political class, to trimming social rights, labor rights, democratic rights, to eat this cake are great services public ... If we get out of the crisis and want those who are implementing current policies, we will leave with many fewer rights.

TF:. If we organize and provoke a breakup, what may come ahead will not be any safe haven, but can be a pretty reasonable system, capable of distributing wealth and ensure that everyone has the minimum to live with dignity. It can not be that 1.000 million people go hungry in a world of 7,000 million people that produces food for 11,000 million.

How do you change drives?

TF: First, speaking clear: reform can not be a change must be a change in breakdown. It can not be a new version of capitalism, must be an anti-capitalist model. With this clear horizon, we need to unite and organize politically to break a unit bid proposing the development of a new constitutional framework. Reactions, if the movement grows, will not wait, and on arrival must be ready to cope.

EV: There is a hegemonic discourse would have us believe that we are guilty of this, we are accomplices. So tell us we have lived beyond our means, because if we think this crisis is our responsibility to accept the consequences, which are cuts. It is important to open your eyes to this reality, become aware, for the output of the crisis is in our hands and respond to our needs as people and not the interests of a few.

Does society is ready for a revolutionary process of this type?

T. F:. Is the idea ready to go spreading. The revolutionary process is not linear, there may be unexpected jumps, is more like a boiling magma below, you can suddenly erupt. The more organized you find us eruption, know better advantage. For example, the indefinite strike of teachers in the Balearics was a surprise and could have been the catalyst for a chain reaction.

EV: When from the Constituent Process propose that it is necessary to add a wide range of individuals, organizations, movements, etc.. and propose that you have to change the game in favor of the majority, because today we say this constitutional process is being reversed: it is carrying out a process of cuts and loss of rights as we had never imagined. And so we can be prepared for this situation or not, but we have no choice but to face it.

How should the new policy?

EV:. With the current completely antagonistic to the dominant policy and practice, which has its center of gravity in the street. From my point of view, things can only be changed from the fight, mobilization and disobedience on the street. If this does not exist, no change is possible. Since the institutions themselves, you can not change anything. History has clearly shown us, when called leftist organizations have come to the government, we have seen have been dragged into the right-wing policies.

TF: To ensure individual freedoms for all effectively, the political system should aim to prevent the accumulation and abuse of power. It should enhance and diversify public participation. It is not only effectively institutionalize popular control of elected officials and their decision-making, but to enhance people's participation to the fullest.

EV:. What is critical is that only social mobilization is not enough, we need new instruments closely linked these struggles to end the monopoly of those who have always exercised political institutions. What is urgent now is to turn this social majority that suffers the most political crisis.

If you start to grow employment and pressure on citizens disminuyese, would not lead to less mobilization?

TF: It is important to note that the crisis does not end. It is endemic in capitalism. Maybe some people are less affected, and it may be that these people are demobilized. Motivation and content of the revolution may not be the individual benefit, but everyone makes way into this awareness at their own pace.

EV: A few years ago, was to be a mileurista be precarious, today is to be a lucky one. They want to normalize poverty, insecurity, and why it's so important to seize the moment, emergency indignation, in which do not settle, rebels, broad sectors of society that may not connect to mobilize feel of these social protests. I think there is now an opportunity as ever to change things, and we must seize.

If the revolution is not overall there is nothing to do?

TF:. If the revolution is not overall there is not much to do but just be global revolution from local struggles. We should not wait for the emergence of a revolutionary superorganization a planetary level and tell us what we need to do: revolution (local and global) starts from below.

EV: Any kind of socio-political change as it arises must have a clear internationalist perspective. You should create partnerships with other organizations and social movements. And it takes hold institutions to dissolve and start a constituent process, in which the whole population can redefine the rules of the game.