The rain respected the 8-M in Madrid and avoided diluting the women’s party, but not the division of the Government, staged in the vote for the start of the processing of the reform of the law of only yes is yes in Congress on Tuesday , which was chewed in the air and predicted a storm. But, despite the obvious bankruptcy of the feminist movement and the celebration of two marches (like last year), the reality is that purple dyed the center of the city. There was no failure of attendance (17,000 in the protest of the 8-M Commission; 10,000 in that of the Madrid Feminist Movement, according to the Government delegation). Although it had nothing to do with that of 2018, the reference manifestation.
Women of all ages came out to claim their rights together, regardless of controversy: “Rights are fought among all, there is a lot to do,” says Silvia Castillo, 55 years old. Her words seemed to sum up the general feeling. In the rest of Spain, the division of marches was reduced to a few capitals, such as Seville, Valencia or Alicante. In most, units with extensive assistance as in Barcelona, ??Zaragoza or Bilbao. In the Catalan capital the protest brought together 40,000 people, according to La Urbana. And in the morning, the students did not fail.
In the main demonstration, the one in Madrid, tens of thousands of women took to the streets again, especially in the one organized by the 8-M Commission, closer to Podemos and contrary to the reform proposed by the PSOE on the law of consent sexual. Despite this, they were there with their own banner with their socialist ministers and ministers.
Much less numerous was that of the Madrid Feminist Movement, which also left Atocha half an hour earlier (6:30 p.m.), and which the PP invited to attend. A dozen deputies attended this march, including Carmen Navarro, PP’s deputy secretary for Social Policy. The former vice president of the Government, Carmen Calvo, was not seen, whom some expected due to her opposition to the trans law. She was in Cordoba.
Among their most repeated cries, that of the resignation of Irene Montero, whom they point to as guilty of the “blurring” of feminism, by including the trans collective in the demands of women.
Those cries were not shared by some attendees, who expressed their sadness at this division. “We have always gone to the main demonstration, but I have decided to come to this one because I do not like what Montero is doing. But, I do not agree with asking for his resignation. Not today,” says Marga López, 57.
Much happier was the march of the 8-M Commission. Many women decided to “pass” from that division of feminism. “We have a lot to claim, not to go out on the streets because of the clashes between the political parties,” says María Gutiérrez, 26. “Let them fight, we are here to fight. This is not about parties, it is about women’s rights”.
And the policies spread in the festive atmosphere that reigned in the streets. The harsh words that were heard Tuesday in Congress stayed in Congress. The socialist part of the Government, with broad smiles, demonstrated with its banner just like the team from the Ministry of Equality.
Smiles, lots of smiles.
A big one is the one exhibited by the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, who was conciliatory with what happened these days (“technical discrepancies”, she indicated) and explained that “all women who defend equality are going together today”. Along with her, the Ministers of Health, Carolina Darias; of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez; Territorial Policy and Government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez; of Economic Affairs and First Vice President, Nadia Calviño; of Justice, Pilar Llop, and of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto. The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, was not there, but his wife, Begoña Gómez, was. They all chanted “if they touch one, they touch all of them”.
A few hundred meters away, the Equality team, led by Irene Montero, who was less conciliatory than her Socialist colleagues: “Bad news for women that the Socialist Party has joined hands with the Popular Party to return to Criminal Code of violence or intimidation. The conquest of consent in the center of the Penal Code is not the patrimony of this ministry or of this Government, but of the women of this country”.
And as usual, a discordant note could not be missing. In Madrid, a banner was seen with the slogan “Let Tito Berni vote for you”, in reference to former Socialist deputy Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo immersed in the Mediator case. The protest was supported by Nuevas Generaciones de Madrid and behind the banner was, among others, the president of the youth organization of the PP, Ignacio Dancausa. This concentration has been located at the height of the Paseo del Prado, about ten meters from the head of the PSOE delegation. The police withdrew them.