Brais Fernández is on the editorial board of Viento Sur and an activist in the Anticapitalistas in the Spanish state.
Portuguese premier António Costa has called a snap general election in a bid to end his dependency on left-wing parties’ votes in parliament. The split owes to his refusal to roll back attacks on labor rights imposed by the previous right-wing government.
Spain’s requisitioning of private hospitals is a fine example of government mobilization to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet the country’s overwhelmed wards also show how neoliberal policies have chipped away at public health care — starving hospitals of resources while siphoning them off to paid-for alternatives.
Until recently, Spain was uniquely free of neofascism. Not anymore.
With the Catalan standoff emboldening the Spanish right, can Podemos revive its populist alternative to the status quo?
Podemos has called a mass demonstration against the Rajoy government today as the party adopts a more combative approach.