The seats are for consuming

Some illustrious representatives of the PP have demanded that the squares remain clear of grumbling campers. This has been done by the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida. Of course, the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, has also complained about the encampment in Plaza de España. Furthermore, he has offered us a display of demagoguery by having used the complaints from Flama regarding sexist behavior by some campers. A behavior that the collective itself has criticized.

These people have set up their tents in the public space as a sign of protest for the housing emergency, but they represent a provocation that goes further. An unprofitable use of these places is being made. Simply, they are there. They do not buy anything, they do not consume at a bar terrace, they do not take the opportunity to go to the bank branch. Ergo, they are annoying. And a lot. Hence the disdain with which right-wing and far-right politicians speak of the protests.

The squares and streets of our cities are no longer places to be, but for passing through. They must be clean and polished, so that consumers and tourists are happy, buy, eat, pay. Money should not get bored inside pockets, it must come out, air itself out, pass from hand to hand.

That is why the encampments represent a contradiction. They are not productive in economic terms. What do ethics and citizenship have to do with it? What benefit do they leave? None. They are annoying. They make things dirty.

It is enough to contemplate the street furniture that is in the Plaza de España to understand that it is not a place to hang out. The benches are for two people at most (groups of friends have a hard time hanging out there); there are large spaces without shade (in summer you feel the instinct to flee immediately), the bar terraces extend waiting for clients (there are pizzas, ice creams, tapas with beers, a whole world of possibilities)... James I proudly contemplates the panorama from his horse and only the pigeons have permission to waste time without doing anything productive.

Produce and spend. This is our life cycle. When we do not follow it, we challenge the established powers. That is why being in a place outside this circle is so challenging and annoying for the established powers. Politicians believe that they are the ones who give permission to be on the street. We have let them forget that it is not theirs.