Europe is finally rising up!

REVOLUTION is in the air across Europe, as millions take to the streets and reject a future of slavery under global neoliberalism.

The transnational  #14N day of strikes and actions saw huge numbers vent their anger against the capitalist system and its "austerity" agenda of privatisation and tyranny.

The panicked establishment - increasingly revealed as the same entity under different 'national' guises - has reacted with ever-more brutal attacks by its hired cop thugs.

The scenes in Portugal, as riot cops viciously cleared protesters from in front of the parliament in Lisbon, were particularly enlightening in this respect.



In Spain, hundreds were injured and rubber bullets fired at protesters - a sure sign that the authorities fear losing control.

This cowardly cop assault on a young girl in Tarragona has sparked widespread public outrage.





There were also attacks on sit-down protesters in Madrid.




This aerial shot shows the scale of the protest in Madrid.

And this one in Barcelona.

In Italy, there were also dramatic clashes between rebels and cops, such as this one in Milano.

Milano 14 novembre: scontri in Corso Magenta verso Palazzo delle Stelline. from MilanoInMovimento on Vimeo.



When millions of citizens reject capitalism in this manner and the only response from governments is to have them physically attacked, the only way forward is revolution. The great uprising has begun!

Greece - heading for a revolution?

ALL eyes are now on Greece, as the neoliberal world order comes into direct and obvious conflict with democracy.

Protests against plutofascist 'austerity' continue all over the world, including in Spain, Italy, the USA and the UK.

But in Greece the conflict has moved on to another phase. The anti-capitalist rebels have successfully made the point that the global bankers are destroying their communities and effectively ignoring the will of the people.

While the years of  full-on protest and riots did not succeed directly in sparking a revolution, they did expose to the general public the stark reality of the situation.

It is for this reason that the majority of the electorate backed anti-austerity parties in the recent general election.

With a re-run now lined up, the neoliberal elite fear a victory for Syriza and the left which would represent a serious challenge to their hegemony.

What will they do now? How will they stop the anticipated election result from becoming reality? Already there are dire warnings of a descent into chaos if the Greek population rejects the 'safety' of neoliberal slavery.

What further scaremongering and smears will be wheeled out? Can we expect a false flag 'terror' attack to try and change the course of the vote?

And if the left does win the elections, will the money men stand by and watch while these upstarts take over power and put their worldwide capitalist empire at risk of collapse?

Or will this be the time for them to once and for all drop the pretence of  this phoney democracy with which they have been keeping us all in line for so long?

Looking a step further ahead, what would happen next if they denied the Greek people their choice and tried to impose a regime of their own liking?

Remember, the Spanish Revolution did not begin in 1936 as an uprising against the state, but was a defensive reaction to an extreme-right coup against a left-wing government.

With half of the Greek police reckoned to have voted Nazi in the last election, the scenarios are not so different.

General strike called in Spain as anger grows

SPANISH people are gearing up for a massive fight against neoliberal dictatorship.

Huge protests were held across the country at the weekend and a national strike has been called for Thursday March 29.

Meanwhile Bilbao was last week the latest city in the Spanish state where anger against 'austerity' and the theft of people's rights has erupted onto the streets.

Anti-capitalist protesters backing the strike call started fires in the streets of the Basque city and smashed the windows of a bank.

The Spanish people are next in line to be crushed by the gold-plated jackboots of the global plutofascist elite.

Keep up to date with the global insurrection - follow VM on Twitter.

Brutal Spanish cops attack students - videos

 
 




BRUTAL cops have attacked student protesters in Valencia, sparking public outrage across the Spanish state.

Several hundred young people, responding to appeals on social networks, gathered on Monday outside the institute Lluis Vives.

Reports AFP: "The clashes broke out in the mid-afternoon after students protesting against education budget cuts, which they say have left classrooms without heating, demonstrated outside a school and came up against police barricades.

"Photographs and videos from the scene showed youths with bleeding faces and baton-wielding police in helmets and body armour chasing, beating and dragging people along the ground as the clashes continued after nightfall.

"El Pais newspaper said on its website that police fired rubber bullets, and media reported numerous injuries."

Solidarity protests against the sickening state violence are being planned.

Keep up to date with the global insurrection - follow Vast Minority on Twitter.   

 

M31 - European Day of Action Against Capitalism

A EUROPEAN Day of Action Against Capitalism has been called for Saturday March 31 2012.

Said a statement on the M31website: "During an international meeting in December 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, several left wing organisations and grassroots unions from Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria and Germany decided to launch a joint effort against capitalist reforms under the current crisis.

"On March 31st, there will be a 'European Day of Action against Capitalism', with simultaneous demonstrations in those countries, labeled 'M31'.

"Groups from other countries are likely to join in, as networking continues. Protests will be directed against neoliberal and undemocratic impositions by the European Union (EU), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The anticapitalist organisations involved want to send a clear signal against further austerity measures, mainly propelled by Germany, and on the backs of workers, the unemployed, students and migrants.

"We protest against nationalist propaganda targeting wageworkers in Southern European countries, and against the EU’s military bulkheading on its borders. Alternatively, organisers of M31 call for transnational solidarity and self-organisation of those affected by further cuts, privatization and capitalist exploitation.

"Up to now, there is no effective transnational solidarity between workers, unions, the unemployed and migrants. If we want this to change, we’ll have to do it ourselves.

"The international day of action in spring preludes a forthcoming European initiative of left wing organisations and grassroots unions, preparing further protests throughout 2012. We invite other emancipatory unions and organisations to join M31.

"Please take note of our Call for Action on www.march31.net. We’ll be happy to answer any request or proposal.

"Let’s get started!"

Keep up to date with the global insurrection - follow VM on Twitter. 

Brutal cop kicks woman in head

A SHOCKING video of a cop brutally kicking a handcuffed female protester in the head has emerged on the internet.

Note that this footage shows the incident in slow motion - a real-speed version can be seen here.

Reports Keep Talking Greece: "A group of Indignados made up of protestors from several European countries arrived in Brussels last week after walking the 1562km from Madrid.

"Wednesday’s incident happened during an otherwise peaceful demonstration in front of the headquarters of the bank Dexia on the Rogierplein in the Sint-Joost-ten-Node area of the city."

The woman, who is Greek, was interviewed by the authorities after the video surfaced and the cop has been suspended.

The point to remember here is that protesting peacefully does not mean police will not physically attack you - in fact, for some of them the reverse is true.

A new wave of hope

27M BCN REVOLUTION from Paco Ruiz on Vimeo.

THE new wave of hope created by the real democracy movement continues to inspire people across Europe.

An interesting first-hand account of the Athens occupation can be found on From the Greek Streets.

Enthusing about the revolutionary potential of the movement, the author berates anarchist comrades who have so far snubbed the protests as not being radical enough.

He writes: "Since I was 15 I have taken part in school and university occupations, general strikes, anti-war movements, anti-racist actions and riots, many times with excitement and enthusiasm.

"Together with December, this movement fulfils me like no other. I feel sorry for those who have not seen it. I am sad for those who have misunderstood it. More than anything I feel bad for my comrades who have not tasted the wonderful, irreplaceable nights of Syntagma.

"Comrades, get over your stuck-upness and wholeheartedly embrace this movement!"

The Greeks are calling for a European or even global day of action for this Sunday, June 5.

Meanwhile in Madrid, where protesters remain in la Puerta del Sol, there has been a call for a global day of action on Saturday October 15.

Police attack in Barcelona sparks wave of protests

SPANISH protesters remain defiant after a brutal attack by police on the camp for real democracy in the centre of Barcelona on Friday.

Horrific scenes of riot cops truncheoning peaceful demonstrators, many sitting on the ground, have been seen by millions on the internet.

They have also sparked a new mood of determination among the thousands who have been out on the streets across Spain for the last two weeks, protesting at fake neoliberal 'democracy'.

Not only was the camp at plaza Cataluña quickly rebuilt after the police attack, but solidarity actions were held elsewhere.

El Pais reports that in Andalucía, thousands of people protested in various towns and in Seville the campers, who had held a three-minute silence, announced their intention to stay on in the city centre indefinitely.

The "indignados" in Valencia outside la Delegación del Gobierno decided to take over the calle Colon in the city centre to stage an impromptu march.

Widespread support was shown for the Barcelona protesters - from Vitoria and Bilbao in the Basque Country to Palma in Majorca and Las Palmas in the Canaries, reports the paper.

In Logroño people expressed their anger at the "violent, disproportionate and unjustifiable" actions of the police.

In Santander, around 500 people gathered with flowers in the Plaza Porticada and held a minute's silence, with a similar event in Plaza del Castillo in Pamplona.

A thousand people turned out in Santiago in Galicia and more than 500 in Murcia, Oviedo and Gijón, with further protests reported in Zaragoza and various smaller towns all across the country as the shockwaves spread from the sight of police brutality reminiscent of the Franco regime.

In Greece the new revolutionary movement has also taken hold in a big way.

The blog From the Greek Streets has videos from Athens and reported: "Today there were as many people as yesterday at the square; many are organising and determined to stay, indefinitely.

"There have been at least nine working groups formed up (general coordination, cleaning, cooking, translation/ media, technical support, legal support, medical aid etc).

"The fascists were few and isolated by the huge crowds. Come to Syntagma, everything’s changing right there, right before our eyes."

Pro-democracy protests are also being called for cities all across France on Saturday night.

Spanish spirit spreads to Greece

THE EMPOWERING spirit of the #spanishrevolution - itself inspired by Egypt's Tahrir Square - has spread to Greece, taking opposition against neoliberalism there to a new level.

Reported From the Greek Streets: "In a series of demonstrations and gatherings unseen in Greece’s recent turbulent history, tens of thousands took to the streets demanding for 'all politicians to go', in a call similar to the one that shook Spain only a few days ago.

"In Athens, approximately 20,000 took to Syntagma Square; in Thessaloniki, approximately 5,000 gathered in front of the city’s white tower. Many thousands gathered in Patras, Volos, Chania, Ioannina and Larisa, and other cities."

A later update from Syntagma Square on Wednesday night said: "Thousands seem to prepare themselves for spending the night at the square with tents and folding beds.

"An impromptu popular assembly finished earlier on; people gather in groups, discuss, approach the parliament in turns shouting slogans. There will definitely be many of them here in the morning."

Meanwhile, further East, the Georgian authorities used brutal force to break up an anti-government protest.

The so-called 'silver revolution', so named because of the older age groups involved, had demanded the resignation of US-backed president Mikheil Saakashvili.

‘Madrid will be the tomb of neoliberalism’

TENS of thousands of protesters are still occupying the Puerta del Sol in the centre of Madrid, even though media outside Spain are trying to pretend nothing is happening.

With the #spanishrevolution declaring its opposition to fake democracy, to corruption and neliberal economics, its message was never going to go down well with corporate news outlets.

Despite camps springing up all over Spain and in other countries across Europe and the world, the uprising is being largely denied the 'oxygen of publicity' by the capitalist propaganda machine.

A first-hand report posted on UK Indymedia details some of the protest signs covering the square, giving an insight into the movement's direction.

"No puede volver a dormir tranquilo aquel que alguna vez abrio los ojos says one small poster – once you’ve opened your eyes there’s no way you can go back to sleeping peacefully.

"El sistema politico es un fraude, el sistema economica es un robo says another – the political system is fraud, the economic system is theft.

"Banqueros + politicos = mafia legal says another, which doesn’t require any translation.

"Si hay futuro, pero solo si luchamos por el – yes there is a future, but only if we fight for it.

"Un pueblo organizado no vota, decide – an organized people doesn’t vote, it decides."

The report adds: "This vibrant and determined pro-democracy movement means it for real.

"Ha nacido en Sol un nuevo nosotros says a banner – a new ‘us’ has been born in Sol.

"Madrid sera la tumba del neoliberalismo adds another – Madrid will be the tomb of neoliberalism.

"And there’s even one in English for those of you at home – ‘People of Europe rise up!’"

Tide of dissent is swelling

A TIDE of people power is sweeping Spain - and threatening to spread across Europe - as pro-democracy protesters defy the authorities.

While mainstream corporate media have been slow to catch up with the importance of the anti-neoliberal anti-election movement on the Iberian peninsula, word is now getting out.

The international inspiration the Spanish 'revolution' has provided can be seen at this website bringing together information from many different countries.

The Channel 4 website carried this report:

On the sixth day of demonstrations against unemployment in Spain, protesters in Madrid and Barcelona tell Channel 4 News they will continue to protest despite a mooted ban.

Demonstrators young and old vowed to continue protesting against unemployment - now a staggering 4.9 million and the highest in the eurozone at 21 per cent - after this weekend's local and regional elections.

Mass protests have sprung up in more than 60 cities across the country, in Madrid, Barcelona, Cordoba, Murcia, Valencia, Zaragoza, Tarragona, Salamanca, Sevilla, Malaga, Cadiz, Oviedo, Santander and Bilbao to name a few.

The pledge to continue the demonstrations came after the governement's electoral board ruled on Thursday that protests would be illegal on Saturday, the eve of elections when Spaniards will choose 8,116 city councils and 13 out of 17 regional governments.

But beleaguered Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose approval rating has plummeted to lower than three out of 10, said he may not enforce the ban that could provoke clashes.

"I have a great respect for the people protesting, which they are doing in a peaceful manner, and I understand it is driven by economic crisis and young people's hopes for employment," Mr Zapatero said.

Dubbed "los indignados" (the indignant), tens of thousands of Madrilenians have turned out for six consecutive days, and many have remained overnight, in the capital's main square of Puerta del Sol. They insist that they are not demonstrating against Zapatero, his Socialist party, or indeed any political party.

They wave placards reading: "There isn't enough bread for so much chorizo" (the word "chorizo" colloquially means "thief" in Spanish), "You can camp to see Hannah Montana, but not to defend your rights," and "Sol is our Tahrir Square", referring to the ground zero of Egypt’s revolution.

Alicia, an unemployed psychologist, has remained in Sol since Sunday. She told Channel 4 News: "This is not specifically a movement against the current government. It's against the system. Against the way bankers and large businesses have been given carte blanche to do as they wish.

"I get a feeling some people think it's a movement to kick out Zapatero from power and get the People’s Party (the centre-right opposition party, led by Mariano Rajoy). It is not. It's a movement against politicians of any sign who look after their interests rather than ours, who embark on absurd electoral campaigns where they bring up irrelevant issues to try to win voters and attack their opponents, when we're more concerned about getting a job and getting back our earning power."

The protesters insist that political parties, as well as the right-wing media, have used the demonstrations as political ammunition going into the weekend's polling.

"Right-wing radio stations are saying that the protesters were trained by ETA and are ETA sympathisers, that we were being paid by the left-wing parties. They've said that we were meeting in Sol because the regional PP government is based there. This is ridiculous: Sol is the centre of Spain, where you find 'kilómetro cero'," said Alicia.

"The television channels tend to film the stereotypical young, dreadlocked protesters and not the unemployed older men in suits or the OAPs or the disenchanted university graduates, and that doesn't do the movement any favours."

In Madrid and Barcelona, demonstrators have claimed that uniformed police and plain-clothes officers have used excessive force against demonstrators at night.

Miguel, an unemployed architect living in Barcelona, told Channel 4 News that plain clothes policemen were attacking those camped out in the city's Plaza de Catalunya. "They come when many people for left for the night to get rest before returning in the morning.

"They are wearing normal clothes, often dressed like many of the protesters, with protest slogans on their t-shirts, and break the tents up, waking people up and dragging them out of the square.

"Some of the people have said they were hit with batons when they refused to move. We are worried that if Zapatero does not reverse the decision to ban protests, people will get hurt because we will not be moving."

Real Democracy Now, the online group which has organised the protests, said that police had acted "excessively" in Madrid.

A press release read: "According to information available to us… the actions of peaceful civil disobedience protests [were responded to by] the State Security Forces acting excessively. We condemn the brutal police repression and show our solidarity with those injured and the unreasonably detained for acts of peaceful resistance without any provocation, for which we demand the immediate release without charge."

Madrid protesters defy ban

THOUSANDS of people defied both the protest ban and heavy rain to again occupy la Puerta del Sol in the centre of Madrid over Wednesday night.

Workers, unemployed people and pensioners joined young people in calling for an end to neoliberal 'austerity' measures and a democratic system based on the needs of people, rather than economics.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo explained that when the majority of protesters left the square at midnight, hundreds of young people again stayed on throughout the night, in a powerful gesture echoing the Tahrir Square occupation in Cairo.

Food was distributed free to anyone who wanted it and, while the weather put paid to the planned general assembly, debates were held on the future of the May 15 Movement for real democracy.

El Pais said that the protests had taken a big step forward. Whereas on Monday and Tuesday they had attracted younger people via social networking sites, on Wednesday older people arrived, having heard about the movement through traditional media.

The newspaper described a sense of 'indignation' in the air and thought it unlikely that the protests, which have also been happening across the country, would disappear before Sunday, which is a day of local elections.

The protests have also been featured on Fox News Latino.

The site reports: "Chanting a cry of resistance from Spain's 1936-1939 civil war, thousands of mainly young people thronged this capital's emblematic Puerta del Sol square Wednesday night in defiance of a ban on demonstrations ahead of weekend regional and municipal elections.

"Demonstrators also shouted slogans expressing disgust with both the governing Socialists and the main opposition conservative Popular Party.

"Police, who forcibly evicted some 150 protesters from the area early Tuesday, stood by as the activists vowed to resist peacefully if authorities tried to dislodge them."

Madrid Junta bans protests

BREAKING NEWS: The authorities in Madrid have banned the mass pro-democracy protests in la Puerta del Sol.

Clearly frightened of the surge of people power witnessed over the last couple of days, the local Electoral Junta has declared the gathering illegal.

The aim tonight will presumably to frighten off casual protesters and then use the police to attack anyone who dares defy the ruling.

Already it is being reported that police are packing out the Metro system, demanding people's ID and using loudspeakers to announce the protest has been prohibited.

Once again, the facade of western neoliberal 'freedom' is exposed as a lie. When the capitalist system feels under threat it will always resort to its monopoly of violence, even against specifically non-violent dissenters.

The hypocrisy of condemning the regimes in Libya and Syria for behaving in exactly the same way is simply staggering.

The Vast Minority urges our fellow freedom-fighters in Madrid to resist for all they are worth - tonight and every night.

For latest information follow #spanishrevolution (or, with rumours that this is being censored, perhaps #nonosvamos - we're not going) on Twitter.

Spanish 'revolution' gains momentum

THE PEOPLE have again taken to the streets all across Spain to reject neoliberal rule and call for real democracy.

Spanish media reported that at least a thousand people, of all ages, returned to la Puerta del Sol in Madrid on Tuesday night - this time they were not attacked by police.

The people's assembly there decided to keep meeting every night at 8pm and keep the street revolts going until at least Sunday (a day of local elections), with the view of staging an even bigger mobilisation on Friday and Saturday.

Similar scenes are unfolding across the country.

This enormous wave of protest, of which young people have been at the forefront, is clearly of huge significance for both Spain and Europe.

Despite this - or perhaps because of it - the movement is thus far receiving virtually no press coverage in the English-speaking world.

One of the few reports, on Euronews, stated: "Hoping to repeat the success of Egyptian people power, various groups in Spain have occupied Madrid’s main square of 'Puerta del Sol'.

"Students, workers and the unemployed have called their protests the May 15 movement signifying when they first came out onto the streets in 50 cities across the country.

"Like the Arab Spring activists they use twitter and the internet to rally support.

"Calling for fewer police and more education the demonstrators say their arms are their weapons.

"Discontent with Spain two-party system and the country’s high unemployment rate has galvanised the disparate groups.

"While mainly peaceful there have been some clashes with police and an several arrests."

Meanwhile details of the London solidarity protests have gone online at realdemocracylondonblogspot.com

Supporters of all nationalities are urged to meet at Sloane Square tube station at 7pm every night from Wednesday May 18 to Sunday 22 to march on the Spanish Embassy.

Youth revolt spreads to Spain

THE tide of youth revolt sweeping the Arab world has crossed the Mediterranean to southern Europe.

Protesters calling for a new political system have been taking to the streets of Spain over the last few days, organising via Facebook and Twitter hashtags such as spanishrevolution and acampadasol.

In an echo of the Tahrir Square protests in Egypt, they have been camping out overnight in prominent public spaces.

Although they have adopted a non-violent approach, the Spanish state has, of course, not followed suit and police violently evicted young dissidents from La Puerta del Sol in Madrid.

In response, the protesters - who reject all the mainstream political parties in the name of real democracy - called a new protest at the central square for this evening (May 17).

Protests were also called for la plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona, for Huelva (plaza Antiguo Colombino), Sevilla (plaza de la Encarnación), Málaga (plaza de la Constitución), Granada (paseo del Salón), Murcia (avenida Glorieta I), Alicante (plaza de la Montañeta), Valencia (plaza del Ayuntamiento), Palma de Mallorca (plaza de España), Vigo (calle del Príncipe), Gijón (plaza del Ayuntamiento), Santander (plaza Porticada), Burgos (plaza Mayor, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz in Tenerife, among others towns and cities.

There were also calls for a camp outside the Spanish embassy in London.

Spanish workers to call general strike

SPAIN'S largest union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) could call a general strike to protest against planned austerity measures, its head said on Friday.

Report Reuters: "CCOO head Ignacio Fernandez Toxo said he would 'probably' invoke a general strike over the Socialist government's 'right-wing economic policy, financial speculation and the markets'.

"Spain has the highest levels of unemployment in the euro zone at 20 percent, up from a 2007-low of 8 percent, after a burst property bubble and consumer spending slump left millions from the construction and service sector without work.

"After protests in Greece turned violent in early May, there are concerns Spain could follow the same route, as the government makes drastic spending cuts in an effort to convince markets its public finances are under control.

"Investors fear Spain's Socialist government will be unable to reduce its budget deficit, from 11.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2009.

"United States President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called on the Spanish government for reforms over concerns of potential contagion from the failure of an economy more than three times the size of Greece's."

Spain braced for 'austerity' unrest

SPAIN faces social unrest as new Greek-style austerity measures are imposed, warn media reports.

Says The Independent: "Under pressure from Brussels and the White House, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made an about-turn yesterday, announcing a barrage of painful measures to curb his country's ballooning deficit.

"The new austerity package – aimed at averting a bigger version of the Greek crisis, but likely to anger the Spanish unions – includes a 5 per cent pay cut for Spain's 2.5 million public sector workers this year, scrapping the €2,500 (£2,100) "baby cheque" for new mothers and a €6bn cut in public investment.

"Spaniards surviving on minimum pensions kissed goodbye to promised cost-of-living increases yesterday, while unpopular cuts to state medical expenditure, payments to people caring for elderly parents and international development projects were also announced.

"Until now, Mr Zapatero has managed to avoid the type of unrest that has brought thousands on to the streets of Athens, despite a unemployment rate of 20 per cent and an earlier round of austerity cuts.

"This was in part because he managed to preserve social benefits and protections in the face of repeated calls by economists and business leaders for labour reform.

"Following yesterday's announcement, however, union leaders issued veiled threats of taking to the streets. 'The behaviour of the trade unions has been and is impeccable during these times of crisis and will continue to be so, but [yesterday's] announcement is a turning point,' Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, president of one of Spain's largest trade unions, told reporters.

"He said he expected citizen reaction to be 'massive'. The union leader warned that cuts in salaries and pensions would be counter-productive to Mr Zapatero's objectives, because they would dampen consumption and cause even more unemployment."

Carnival attack on global brand

MASKED radicals used the cover of carnival to attack a Benetton store in Spain.

Reported Angry News from Around the World: "Seven masked people entered the shop right in the centre of Lugo, giving no possibility of identification to the CCTV cameras.

"According to investigators, the group probably prepared the attack in advance, taking advantage of the carnival festivities in order not to attract attention.

"They believe, moreover, that there is some anarchist organisation behind it. In fact, in the libertarian forums news of the attack was spread extremely rapidly, including details of what was written on the walls of the shop.

"The damage to the inside of the shop was considerable. The authors of the incident broke the windows with clubs. The metal detector at the entrance was also damaged.

"Inside clothing was thrown to the ground, some stained with red paint.Computers and coat hangers were also damaged. The employees were not attacked in any way. The attackers were only concerned with material damage.

"The police have no doubt that it was a question of an attack in defence of the Mapuche community of South America that have been carrying on a struggle for a number of years against the controversial Italian brand."

Explained a campaign website: "The Italian fashion brand Benetton is well known for its 'provocative' promotion campaigns that appear to be socially critical.

"But the internationally operating company is itself involved in dirty deals. In south Argentina, Benetton has bought almost one million hectare of land.

"The local population, mostly Mapuche indigenous people, are forcefully removed from this area. They are calling for solidarity and action against Benetton."