Errekaleor
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Errekaleor is a neighbourhood on the periphery of
Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...
, in the Basque Country,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. It sits on the plateau created by the Errekaleor river, which is part of the
Green Belt of Vitoria-Gasteiz The Green Belt of Vitoria-Gasteiz is a set of urban parks with high ecological value, strategically linked by eco-recreational corridors. It is the result of an ambitious plan of restoration and reclamation on the outskirts of the city that seek ...
. From 2013 onwards, the area was occupied by
squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
and became known as Errekaleor Bizirik (''Errekaleor Alive''). The project is based on the principles of workers' self-management ( autogestión), consensus based decision making,
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
,
anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternati ...
and
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
cultural re-invigoration. The neighbourhood is the largest occupied space of its type on the Iberian Peninsula, with over 10 hectares of land and 150 inhabitants. Residents include children, the elderly, blue-collar workers, the unemployed, students, and teachers. The project includes an organic farm of 2 hectares, a bakery, a bar, a social centre, a library, a theatre, a free shop, a recording studio, and other projects. The area is made up of 32 blocks (
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
: 'bloke',
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
: 'bloques') that hold six apartments each, as well as a number of buildings that were built as part of the original development, such as a school, church and shops, which have now been renovated by the Errekaleor Bizirik community. The neighbourhood has existed since the 1950s, but fell into disrepair and was largely abandoned after the Vitoria-Gasteiz city government evicted the original residents in order to develop the area with modern apartment complexes. Due to the
European debt crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The e ...
, these plans were never carried out, and the area was almost entirely unused for years before the occupation began.


Creation of Errekaleor

In the 1950s, the neighbourhood was built in order to provide housing for the workers who were relocated in the city, having been moved from
Andalucia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It i ...
,
Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...
and
Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...
due to an industrialization program in
Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
. 1200 people lived in the neighbourhood. Many of its residents were involved in labour struggles after the
transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...
which began in 1975. During a city-wide labour strike, Romualdo Barroso Chaparro, a 19 year old resident of Errekaleor, was one of five people killed in a police massacre in 1976, giving the neighbourhood a distinctly militant reputation.


Redevelopment plans

As time went by and the city limit expanded to the edge of Errekaleor, this land increasingly became seen as a valuable resource by the city and developers. In the 1990s and early 2000s the Spanish housing boom led to increased development on the outskirts of the city as part of Vitoria's General Urban Planning Plan. This process created fifteen new sectors of development where entire neighbourhoods were built from scratch. One of these designated neighbourhoods was Errekaleor, and the city began to negotiate with the residents in order to buy their properties and redevelop. In 2002, the Vitoria-Gasteiz city council headed by the Popular Party officially decided to demolish the neighbourhood. By 2010 the city had finalized their proposals, and used their power of
expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...
against the few remaining residents of the neighbourhood in order to clear the way for the project. The new plan was for 1,511 new apartments in 4 buildings surrounding a park of 1.7 acres, designed by Ramón López de Ludo, VC Architects, and Antonio Vélez. During this period the neighbourhood residents resisted the process, mounting various legal challenges and repeatedly voting against their proposed relocation. However, by early 2010 there only remained 35 families who had refused to leave and the public development company Ensanche 21 began the final eviction processes. By October 2010, the
European debt crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The e ...
had become so bad that the city council and Ensanche 21 decided to freeze the project. Without money or political capital behind the project, the plans for development stopped. By this point in time, Ensanche 21 and the city had succeeded in evicting all but 15 families, and planned to finish the eviction process in 2011 even though no development would take place. As the crisis continued and the project remained on hold, the neighbourhood fell into disrepair and the remaining families continued to leave little by little. By 2013, there were only 10 individuals living in the neighbourhood and almost all of the houses had been stripped of copper and other valuable materials.


Errekaleor Bizirik


Occupation

On 3 September 2013, a group of university students
squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
in one of the 32 apartment blocks with the permission of the few inhabitants that remained in the neighbourhood. The project quickly grew to 150 participants at the end of 2016, making it the biggest squatter-occupied space on the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
. The occupation was a result of the original group's reflection on the problem of affordable housing for young people in Vitoria-Gasteiz and a way of taking direct action against the
real estate speculation Real may refer to: Currencies * Argentine real * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Nature and science * Reality, the state of things as they exist, rat ...
in the region. A university lecturer living at the project commented in 2016 "This is a self-managed neighbourhood. We intend to offer alternatives to the system, and we are creating them ourselves." From this point on, the neighbourhood became known as Errekaleor Bizirik (Errekaleor Lives) and a project of self-sufficiency and autonomous communal living began. The group explained their action as a way of solving their personal housing problems in a city with very high housing prices, as well as a way of denouncing the real estate speculation that they saw as the cause for the abandonment of the neighbourhood and the difficulties that the younger generation has in finding affordable housing.


Project

Errekaleor Bizirik is made up of a variety of projects and services offered by its members such as a bakery, orchards, a chicken coop, a library, nursery, print shop, an Evangelical Church which has been converted into a recording studio, classrooms for teaching the Basque language and other subjects, a '' fronton'' (a traditional Basque sports court for playing '' pelota''), a cinema of 115 seats, a
free shop Give-away shops, freeshops, free stores or swap shops are stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, with mostly second-hand items—except that everything is available at no cost. All goods are freely given away, althou ...
, an organic farm of 2 hectares, playgrounds for children, a bar and a 'gaztetxe'
social centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...
. In development are projects such as restoration of the riverfront, self-production of gourmet mushrooms, a radio station, a herb garden and an independent energy grid made up of solar panels, turbines and bicycle generators. The entire project is based on autogestion (self-management or autonomy), consensus based decision making,
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
,
anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternati ...
, and
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
cultural re-invigoration. In this new system of organization, the 192 apartments are organized into self-sufficient but interconnected blocks (
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
: 'bloke',
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
: 'bloques'). One block is inhabited only by women.


Eviction threat

As the neighbourhood changed from an abandoned area to a new alternative cultural project, the city and the legal owners of the property, Ensanche 21, decided to start working to reclaim control of the terrain. In February 2014, the city approved the eviction of the occupied buildings and in March 2015 city officials and riot police entered the neighbourhood to cut the electricity and change the locks of the communal buildings. The city council explained the action by stating that "Recent expert reports have determined that there is a risk to the safety of persons illegally living in such buildings, so they must be evicted to ensure their safety." The occupiers responded with legal statements from electricians, architects, and other professionals that affirmed the safety of the neighbourhood, but the city refused to reconnect the electricity. In response, the residents reconnected the cables themselves, and continued to expand the project into new buildings. The mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz,
Gorka Urtaran Gorka Urtaran Agirre (born 21 December 1973) is a Spanish politician of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV). He served as mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz from 2015 to 2023. Biography Urtaran was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava. His mother, María Je ...
of the PNV, met representatives of Errekaleor Bizirik in November 2015 with an offer to move all the current residents to a neighbourhood in Aretxabaleta. Errekaleor would then be demolished. The assembly of Errekaleor Bizirik rejected the offer, responding:
It is imperative to continue in Errekaleor. Because of the physical living conditions it offers us, because of the time and effort we have invested in this space, the community we have created, and above all, because as the name Errekaleor Bizirik indicates, reviving the neighbourhood is one of the fundamental pillars of this project...We created and are creating Errekaleor Bizirik in response to many of the conditions in modern life, using self-management and an assembly process. By doing so, someone who is accustomed to behave as a passive subject of society becomes an active agent and responsible for his or her own life; Each person becomes a protagonist in his or her present and all of the factors that affect their day to day life ... Errekaleor Bizirik and its participants have many rights that institutions can not guarantee. Here we value and create our rights to culture, community, food and more.
Despite this rejection, the city council continued to try to evict the residents, which continues to be resisted by legal challenges on the part of Errekaleor Bizirik. In 2016, the city proposed emptying the neighbourhood under a legal procedure known as "eviction due to precariousness," but this required a judicial decree that the area is in a precarious and unsafe condition. During this time, repression against the neighbourhood began increasing, with reports of threats and physical assaults of members of the project. Occupations such as Errekaleor Bizirik are not uncommon in the Basque country, and neither are governmental attempts to evict and criminalize these activities.


Electricity

On the morning of 18 May 2017, members of the electrical company
Iberdrola Iberdrola, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. It has around 40,000 employees and serves around 30 million customers. Subsidiary, Subsidiaries include ScottishPower (United Kingdom), Ava ...
and a large contingent of
Ertzaintza The (, or ''People's Guard'') is the autonomous police force for the Basque Country, largely replacing the Spanish Policía Nacional (National Police) and Guardia Civil (Civil Guard). An Ertzaintza member is called an ''ertzaina'' (). ...
(riot police) entered the neighbourhood with the intention of cutting the electricity again by accessing the main transformer. The order was given by the Department of Industry of the Basque government. Because of passive resistance in front of the transformer which included a 'human wall' and residents locking themselves to a metal structure in front of the door, the police and electric workers could not access the transformer. Instead they cut the main electrical line and took out hundreds of metres of cable from the ground. Due to the ongoing electrical contracts inside the neighbourhood and by houses connected to this cable, legal charges were then pressed against Ensanche 21 and Iberdrola. Whilst Iberdrola gave electrical generators to the houses with contracts, the majority of the neighbourhood remained without external electric power. The mayor, Gorka Urtaran, insisted that he had always wanted to offer an alternative living space for the group, an offer which was rejected by Errekaleor Bizirik, who according to him, "have it in their DNA not to negotiate because it is an anti-system collective which does not want to talk to public administrations". Urtaran also said "The objective of the City Council has always been very clear: to bulldoze Errekaleor to create organic farms which create continuity in the Green Belt of Gasteiz. We have never contemplated that the neighbourhood could remain as it is; this is about recovering what was once a natural green space, and never to financially speculate in the area." In response to the reasons given by the government and electrical company to cut the power, the members of Errekaleor Bizirik have denied safety issues in the electrical installation and offered signed statements from professional electricians that attest to the safety of the infrastructure. Errekaleor Bizirik stated that this was another attempt to evict residents from the self-managed project. In the following days, the mayor released a statement that he had ordered Ensanche 21 to begin planning an eviction of the neighbourhood. Following the power cut and removal of electrical cable by the company Iberdrola, Errekaleor Bizirik made an appeal for electric generators. Since Iberdrola refused to reconnect the electricity, Errekaleor Bizirik installed a sustainable and independent electric grid, installing bicycle electricity generators and solar panels, as well as remodelling the communal showers and washing facilities to function without electricity. The project crowdfunded 100,000 euros to buy solar panels.


Murals

Escif XLF-ren murala Errekaleorren.jpg, 'The nights are ours' (
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
: 'Gauak gureak dira' painted by Escif XLF "You are now entering free Errekaleor" murala Errekaleorren.jpg, "You are now entering free Errekaleor" Blu-ren mural bat Errekaleorren.jpg, Mural by Blu Txirrinka murala Errekaleorren.jpg, Mural at Txirrinka Errekaleor. Mural dedicado a Salvador Puig Antich.jpg, Mural in memory of Salvador Puig Antich
Artists have painted murals on the 32 blocks of the terrain. There is a mural to commemorate the death of
Salvador Puig Antich Salvador Puig Antich (; 30 May 1948 – 2 March 1974) was a Spanish militant anarchist from Catalonia. His execution for involvement in a bank robbery and shooting a police officer dead became a '' cause célèbre'' in Francoist Spain for Cata ...
in 1974. Blu and Escif painted two murals each in 2017, in order to support the project's crowdfunding plan.


See also

*
Freetown Christiania Freetown Christiania (), also known as Christiania or simply ', is an intentional community and anarchist commune in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of the Danish capital city of Copenhagen. It began in 1971 as a squatted military base. Its m ...
* Kukutza *
ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes (also known as ZAD NDDL) is the most well-known 'Zone to Defend' in France. Located in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department near to Nantes, it is a very large, mostly agricultural terrain of 1,650 hec ...


References


External links


Website
{{Authority control 2013 establishments in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Squats in Spain Neighbourhoods in Vitoria-Gasteiz