At the first light of this July, the Spanish will have to close their eyes and mouths regarding the national situation, if they don’t wish to be severely penalized.
With the exclusive support of the right-wing People’s Party government, the controversial “Civil Protection Act” or “Gag Law” as it has become known by its many critics, came into force on July 1. According to the media, the law acts to control and regulate protests, establishing fines ranging from 100 to 600 thousand euros, depending on the seriousness of the offense.
It’s worth noting that among the major “violations” cited in the text are, for example, placing graphics and testimonies of police brutality against the many protests – largely due to the rampant economic crisis and government corruption - occurring in Spain in recent years, online or in other media spaces.
Another punishable “sin” relates to the groups and organizations who through mass mobilizations have attempted to stop the evictions of families unable to pay for a roof over their heads due to unemployment and the brutal cuts in pensions and social security.
To the list of prohibitions are also added the convening of marches, rallies and acts outside the Congress, the Senate or the regional governments; protesting outside historic buildings and monuments; not immediately handing over documents to law enforcement officers when required to; or not cooperating with authorities in their efforts to ensure public safety.
In short, as several analysts have rightly pointed out, a sort of return to the centuries of the Inquisition and the “burning of witches.”
Indeed, opposition parties have assured that on winning the upcoming Spanish general elections, one of the first measures taken would be the abolition of such a questionable act, a true example of backwards and ultraconservative thought, which not only completely ignores the most basic of civil rights, but also seeks to impose illogical and insulting controls on the advancement of media and information transfer in a highly globalized and technical era, as well as society’s prerogative to freely express itself regarding anything that affects its welfare.
It is clear that the so-called “Civil Protection Act” also points to the belated attempt to demonize the new Spanish social movements, which in the recent municipal elections took control of several regions and have jeopardized the traditional government pendulum that swung between the worn out People’s Party and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, with very blurred lines in terms of their programs and exercise of power.
Meanwhile, for those in Spain who during these crisis years have managed to articulate an anti-establishment movement that is already bearing fruit, it is clear that the untimely emergence of the “Gag Law” is interpreted as another right wing obstacle to overcome, with the advantage that it is so detrimental to the already beleaguered ordinary citizen, that even with the approval of the Constitutional Court it has no future thanks to its resounding illogical and irrational character.
