The 26S movement, which has brought thousands of people to Madrid’s Puerta del Sol for more than a month, is undergoing a major reorganization. The committees that had managed the camp’s logistics began leaving on Friday after receiving a notice from the Government Delegation urging them to withdraw on security grounds. The official announcement that they were ending their activity came on Saturday, with the coordinators supporting the camp’s dissolution.
Some protesters opposed that decision and have stayed in the square. They say they do not belong to any organization with formal political initials and are trying to create an association to support homeless people who have been living in the camp. Defending the rights of people without resources has become their main focus.
Representatives of this group read a manifesto on Monday. The document restated demands that the movement has raised since its beginning, particularly concerning housing, and described the camp as a community built around care, emotional support and collective solidarity. It did not, however, make clear whether the protesters intended to leave or remain in Sol.
Juanlu, a spokesperson for the protesters, said the manifesto was signed by “the people”. He also stated that the group was staying in the square that day, while declining to provide further details about its plans. The document suggested that Sol could become an assembly and organizing hub after the camp, while emphasizing that the movement would continue spreading through neighborhoods and other areas.
The camp was initially coordinated through committees that functioned as logistical departments. One of them, known as “Pulmón”, distributed food to many of the people staying there. After the committees dissolved, the proposed alternative was for the camp’s roughly ten sections to manage themselves independently. Former coordinators have questioned whether that model is viable because of the different circumstances of those sleeping in the square, including people with mental health problems.
Anna A., a 30-year-old former committee member who spent much of her time working at Pulmón, left the camp on Friday. She said the Government Delegation’s latest notice led the coordinators to believe that remaining there could be illegal and expose them to a forced eviction. She also said that the organizers had gradually moved from a political role into providing social assistance for which they were not trained.
According to Anna, the profile of the camp changed over time. It began with a strong presence of young, politically engaged university students, but later included more homeless people and migrants without resources who came primarily out of necessity. Once the square became full, priority was reportedly given to people experiencing social exclusion.
The former coordinator said the committees had studied a gradual and orderly plan to dismantle the camp, but those who remained did not accept it. She also referred to the case of Hassan, a Moroccan man without legal papers for whom the committees had bought a plane ticket to Brussels so he could travel with a relative. Anna warned that a forced eviction could put him at risk of detention and deportation.
Sources: El País Portada.