Following the HK pictures, I think it is very relevant to take into active consideration the biggest demonstrations in the urban space of an European city held last years, in Barcelona, through an astonishing series of huge demonstrations and performances. First, I upload four pictures, each one for each year, and then four graphs or maps, again each one for each year. (i) 2010, with the slogan “We are a nation. We decide”, 1.1 million people against the Spanish Constitutional Court decision annulling and reinterpreting several articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, approved in referendum by the people of Catalonia in 2006 and that intended to enlarge the autonomy of Catalonia within the 1978 Spanish Constitution; María José Piñeira Mantiñán was there unintentionally, during a stop in the flight towards Israel, for the IGU Conference in Tel Aviv. ;) (ii) 2012, with the slogan “Catalonia, new state in Europe”, 1.5 million people demanding the independence of Catalonia. (iii) 2013, with the slogan “Catalan Way towards Independence”, a 480 km (300 mi) human chain of 1.6 million people in support of Catalan independence, inspired in the 1989 Baltic Way (a 675 km human chain across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with around 2 million people), and in Barcelona running through the most iconic monuments (Sagrada Família, La Rambla, Camp Nou, etc.) in order to gain an international attention. (iv) 2014, with the slogan “Now is the time. Unified for a new country”, 1.8 million people, by demonstrators creating two Catalan flags forming a giant human mosaic, in favour of a self-determination referendum in 9 November 2014, which currently the Spanish Government (manipulating the Constitutional Court again, as the members are elected by the Government itself and interpret the 1978 Spanish Constitution following governmental guidelines) has banned. This demonstration has been reported as the biggest mobilisation in European history. Just a brief geographical reflection: these are massive and unrecorded urban demonstrations happening in one of the most popular urban destinations of the world (according to Mastercard, the world 7th city, and the 3rd in Europe, see newsroom.mastercard/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Mastercard_GDCI_2014_Letter_Final_70814.pdf ). No geographical reflections, on the crossroads between urban geography, geopolitics, tourism geographies, European studies and cultural geography? For more information: bloombergview/articles/2014-10-01/first-scotland-now-spain harvardpolitics/world/catalonia-contention/ latimes/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-cole-catalonia-independence-20141001-story.html
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 03:20:13 +0000
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