Hundreds of people have gathered this Wednesday in the streets of Madrid, Barcelona, and Santiago de Compostela to denounce racism and respond to the gatherings in support of Ceuta that have taken place in recent days in front of numerous town halls across Spain.
In Barcelona, about 700 people, according to the Urban Guard, have gathered this Wednesday in an anti-racist protest. The protesters positioned themselves on the opposite side of Plaza Sant Jaume from the gathering in support of Ceuta.
To prevent both groups from coinciding, the police have established a large deployment with agents from the Mobile Brigade (Brimo) and the Regional Operational Resources Area (Arro), in addition to members of the Urban Guard of Barcelona responsible for controlling access to the square.
The mobilization, promoted by the Coordinadora Obrim Fronteres, Unitat contra el feixisme i el racisme, and the Coordinadora Antifeixista de Barcelona, has been marked by banners with slogans such as "yesterday as today, they shall not pass" and by chants like "no, no, Nazis no, Nazis no, Nazis no," "fascists out of our neighborhoods," "there are no excess migrants, there are excess fascists," and "no person is illegal."
During the protest, "Bella Ciao" was also sung, and shouts in support of Palestine were heard, as well as slogans like "Barcelona antifascist" and "here are the antifascists." Among the attendees, estelada flags, Palestinian flags, flags of the Revolutionary Workers and Workers' Current (CRT), the Revolutionary Communist Organization (OCR), and the Tenants' Union were waved, while shouting "against fascism, class unity" and "long live the struggle of the working class."
At several moments, there were scenes of tension due to the appearance of far-right supporters who confronted the protesters. The agents intervened quickly and moved them to the other side of the police cordon to prevent greater incidents.
Hundreds of people mobilize in Santiago
In Santiago de Compostela, several hundred people have supported a march driven by about twenty collectives to denounce the "racist reaction" to the migration crisis in Ceuta and the "terrible increase" of actions of this type in the Galician capital.
"No person is illegal" or "Against racism, antifascism" have been some of the messages repeated by participants during the march through the streets of the historic center, from Praza de Cervantes to Praza do Toural. At this point, the demonstration concluded with the reading of a manifesto that remembered the hundred people who died "on both sides of the border."
Mass protest in Plaza de Callao in Madrid
In Madrid, hundreds of people have gathered in Plaza de Callao for the call "Let's stop racism," organized by the Internationalist Assembly of Madrid along with other social groups and alternative left organizations.
During the concentration, attendees chanted slogans against racism and xenophobia, while demanding a different response to the migration crisis that does not humiliate or criminalize migrants.
Among the banners displayed, messages could be read such as "We want Lamine, we want Hasan, we want Moha,..." and "fucking Nazis," demanding respect and rights for the migrant population and denouncing the presence of far-right groups.