Spain: Expropriation of Food for the Most Needy · Global Voices
Chris Moya

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
The autonomous representative of the United Left Los Verdes-Convocation (IULV-CA)  for Sevilla, national leader of the Collective Unity of Workers (CUT-BAI) and mayor of the Andalusian locality of Marinaleda, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, along with hundreds of members of the Andalusian Workers Union (SAT), entered various supermarkets in order to carry out what they have designated as an expropriation of food from the large supermarkets.
These food products were destined to go to the food banks, NGO's who provide for the needs of people who, due to the current government's cuts, have increased in number and are being systemically removed from any opportunity of subsistence, and who find themselves in critical situations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUjuJB3q18s
Subsequent to the vindictive action of expropriating food to give to the most needy, the head of the ministry of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz, has given the order to detain those responsible for the assaults on two supermarkets, to which netizens have not delayed in stating their position:
Comparison of judicial actions
@democraciareal: Detención a SánchezGordillo x estar en la acción del SAT, Rato y otros estafadores siguen libres http://bit.ly/QKJphHJusticiaSelectiva
@chikosdelmaiz: No os asuste la crisis compañer@s: hay muchas casas vacías y muchos supermercados llenos. SánchezGordillo a la moncloa. expropiación
@pedroaleman_ser: El #PSOE tacha de “barbaridad” el asalto de SánchezGordillo a un supermercado http://ow.ly/cPIGX
The organization that administers the food bank warned:
Como responsable de una organización muy seria, y el Banco de Alimentos lo es, nosotros no entendemos que este sea un camino acertado. Es cierto que alimento y excedentes hay y mucho, pero tiene que llegar a los más necesitados en las mejores condiciones posibles y por el camino más legal porque, si no, como ha pasado en otros países, esto se convierte en que uno mismo se sirve y se lo lleva, y eso sería un desastre.
This type of situation is occurring more and more in the country: recently there was news that in in the city of Girona in Catalonia, the City Hall has promoted a pilot plan which would close the containers near to the supermarkets with a padlock in order to avoid that they would be opened looking for food.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.