<nettime> How to Win Back the City en Comú

[nettime's avid reader <nettime@kein.org>]

https://barcelonaencomu.cat/sites/default/files/win-the-city-guide.pdf

“We’re living in extraordinary times that demand brave and
creative solutions. If we’re able to imagine a different city,
we’ll have the power to transform it”

 Ada Colau


4 INTRODUCTION
4 WHY A MUNICIPAL PLATFORM?
5 HOW IS A WINNING CITIZEN PLATFORM BUILT?
5 PHASE A: BEFORE THE PUBLIC LAUNCH
6 PHASE B: FROM THE LAUNCH TO THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN
6 CROWDSOURCING A CODE OF ETHICS
7 FINANCING
7 DRAWING UP AN ELECTORAL PROGRAMME “EN COMÚ”
8 PUTTING TOGETHER AN ELECTORAL CANDIDACY
8 STRUCTURE OF BARCELONA EN COMÚ DURING PHASE B

INTRODUCTION

From the very beginning, those of us who participate in Barcelona En
Comú were sure that the democratic rebellion in Barcelona wouldn’t
be just a local phenomenon. We want Barcelona to be the trigger for a
citizen revolution in Catalonia, Spain, Southern Europe and beyond.
We know that there are many similar initiatives to our own in other
cities that aim to break apart the current political and economic
regime from below. Each city will have to find its own way, whether
it takes the electoral route or not. Nevertheless, having won the
Barcelona elections, we are excited to publish this guide to the
philosophy and organization of Barcelona En Comú from our launch
to our entry into government. We hope that it will be useful in the
construction of citizen platforms that aim to win local elections
around the world.

WHY A MUNICIPAL PLATFORM?

Barcelona En Comú didn’t come out of nowhere. In the years before
its creation, in a context of economic and political crisis in which
traditional political institutions were failing to respond to the
needs of the people, a multitude of citizen movements mobilized in the
city and demonstrated the the power of organized citizens to propose
and implement solutions.

We took the social networks, We took the streets and We took the
squares. However, we found that change was being blocked from above by
the institutions. We couldn’t allow this. So, we decided that the
moment had arrived to take back the institutions and put them at the
service of the common good. We decided to win back the city.

However, we found that change was being blocked from above by the
institutions. We couldn’t allow this. So, we decided that the
moment had arrived to take back the institutions and put them at the
service of the common good. We decided to win back the city. For us,
“winning back the city” is about much more than winning the local
elections. It means putting a new, transparent and participatory model
of local government, which is under citizen control, into practice. It
also means implementing fair, redistributive and sustainable policies
to respond to the economic and political crisis. Our strategy has
been to start from below, from what we know best: our streets, our
neighbourhoods. The proximity of municipal governments to the people
makes them the best opportunity we have to take the change from the
streets to the institutions. Cities have always been a place of
encounter, of exchange of ideas, of innovation and, when necessary,
of revolution. Cities are where democracy was born, and they’ll be
where we can start to recover it.

https://barcelonaencomu.cat/sites/default/files/win-the-city-guide.pdf



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