Movimiento 15-M

Movimiento 15-M, also known as movement of the indignados, is a grassroots movement formed after the demonstrations of May 15th 2011 which created a series of pacific protests in Spain in order to promote a participative democracy, against the two-party system and its control from banks and multinational corporations, as well as a real division of powers and other measures with the intention of improving the democratic system.

These protests, along with the Arab Spring and the Greek protests, inspired the Occupy Movement.

Slogans seen in camps and demonstrations

 * «Democracia real ¡YA! No somos mercancía en manos de políticos y banqueros»
 * Real democracy NOW! We are not a commodity lying in the hands of politicians and bankers.
 * Main motto of the demonstration of May 15th.


 * «YES, WE CAMP».
 * in English
 * A tongue-in-cheek reference to Barack Obama's campaign slogan.


 * «Violencia es cobrar 600 euros».
 * Violence is earning €600

(Puerta del Sol, meaning Gate of the Sun is the square occupied by the protesters in Madrid).
 * «Ya tenemos Sol, ahora: ¡la luna!»
 * We already have Sol, now: the moon!


 * «No es una crisis, ¡es el sistema!»
 * It's not a crisis, it's the system!
 * Main banner on the demonstration on July 24th


 * «No es una crisis... es que ya no te quiero»
 * It's not a crisis... I don't love you anymore
 * Main banner on the demonstration on July 24th


 * «Si viene la policía, sacad las uvas y disimulad»
 * ''If the police comes, take your grapes and pretend it's New Year's Eve.
 * (In Madrid, it is a custom to eat twelve grapes on New Year's Eve in Puerta del Sol)


 * «Follar cada cuatro años no es vida sexual, votar cada cuatro años no es vida electoral»
 * Fucking once every four years is not a sex life, voting once every four years is not an electoral life.


 * «Que nuestras conversaciones ahoguen las sirenas»
 * Our conversations will drown the sirens


 * «Pienso luego estorbo»
 * I think, therefore I disturb


 * «La primavera ha llegado a Sol»
 * Spring has come to Sol
 * Is a reference to a department store's slogan Spring has come to el Corte Inglés


 * «No somos anti-sistema, el sistema es anti-nosotros»
 * We are not anti-system, the system is anti-us


 * «Si no nos dejáis soñar, no os dejaremos dormir»
 * If you don't let us dream, we won't let you sleep


 * «Me sobra mes a final de sueldo»
 * I have month enough after my salary


 * «¿Dónde está la izquierda? Al fondo, a la derecha».
 * Where's the left? At the bottom, on the right


 * «Se alquila esclavo económico»
 * Economic slave for rent


 * «Error 404: Democracia not found»
 * Error 404: Democracy not found


 * «Error de sistema. Reinicie, por favor»
 * System error. Please reboot


 * «Esto no es una cuestión de izquierda contra derechas, es de los de abajo contra los de arriba»
 * It's not a question of left against right, it's the one's at the bottom against the ones on top


 * «Vivimos en un país donde licenciados están en paro, el presidente de nuestro gobierno no sabe inglés…y la oposición tampoco»
 * We live in a country where graduates are unemployed, the Prime Minister doesn't speak English… and the opposition either
 * «Mis sueños no caben en tus urnas»


 * «Políticos: somos vuestros jefes y os estamos haciendo un ERE»
 * Polititians: we're your bosses and this is a layoff plan
 * As translated in The Mask and the Flag: Populism, Citizenism and Global Protest by Paolo Gerbaudo, , 2017


 * «Nos mean y dicen que llueve!»
 * They piss on us and they say it's raining!


 * «No falta el dinero. Sobran ladrones»
 * There's no money missing. There's plenty of robbers


 * «¿Qué tal os va por España»?- Pues no nos podemos quejar. O sea, que bien ¿no?- no, que no nos podemos quejar.»
 * How's it going in Spain? - Well, we can't complain. So good, right? - No, we can't complain!


 * «No es una crisis, es una estafa»
 * ''It's not a crisis, it's a con.


 * «Nobody expected the #SPANISHREVOLUTION»
 * A reference to Monty Python's, Nobody expected the Spanish inquisition.


 * «No apagues la televisión… Podrías pensar»
 * Don't turn the TV off... You could start thinking.


 * «Tu futuro es ahora»
 * Your future is NOW


 * «¿Qué les vas a decir a tus hijos cuando te pregunten dónde estabas? ¿Viendo la tele?»
 * What are you going to tell your children when they ask you where you were? Watching TV?


 * «Manos arriba, esto es un contrato»
 * Hands up, this is a contract!


 * «Ni cara A, ni cara B, queremos cambiar de disco»
 * Nor side A, nor side B, we just want to change the record


 * «Rebeldes sin casa»
 * Rebels without a home


 * «Democracia, me gustas porque estás como ausente»
 * Democracy, I like you as if you were absent
 * Reference to Pablo Neruda's poem I like you calm, as if you were absent


 * «Nosotros buscamos razones, ellos victorias»
 * We are looking for reasons, they are looking for victories


 * «Cuando los de abajo se mueven, los de arriba se tambalean»
 * When the ones at the bottom move, the ones on top tremble


 * «Nos habéis quitado demasiado, ahora lo queremos TODO y lo queremos YA»
 * You have taken too much away from us, we want EVERYTHING and we want it NOW


 * «No nos vamos, nos mudamos a tu conciencia»
 * We're not leaving, we're moving to your conscience
 * Motto of the clearup of the camp in Sol


 * «Sabemos el camino de vuelta al Sol»
 * We know the way back to the Sun
 * Motto of the clearup of the camp in Sol (Sun as Puerta del Sol)


 * «Islandia es el camino»
 * Iceland is our path
 * Banner hung on the Home Office building.


 * «Abajo el régimen»
 * Down with the regime
 * Graffitti on the Congress of Deputies' wall

Public chants

 * «Que no, que no, que no nos representan».
 * No, no, they don't represent us.


 * «Lo llaman democracia y no lo es».
 * They call it democracy, but it isn't so


 * «El problema es el sistema, la solución: LA REVOLUCIÓN"
 * The problem is the system, the solution: REVOLUTION