Lyubava Malysheva: My mayor is a woman

The first female mayor of Barcelona Ada Kolau took office on June 13, 2015. The main points of its election program were the development of the poorest regions and green zones of the city, the construction of new kindergartens, a revolutionary communal strategy, its own currency, a single pass, the fight against corruption. And if it seems to you that the program sounded somewhat utopian, take heart drops before reading this text.

Corruption

The principle "power must be transparent" - the core of Kolau's policy. Now on the website of the Barcelona City Hall there is an anonymous grave box for corrupt officials. Citizens are asked to send evidence of abuse of official position. Kolau herself sets an example of political ethics. Opposition parties voted against reducing the official salary of the mayor (100,000 euros per year). And then hell said: she will receive only 2200 euros per month, the rest of the salary will go to taxes and charity. Because for Ada Kolau, work in the city council is not about money.

The new mayor reports to the voters about each step-about the work duties (5-6 planned events per day), on expenses for airline tickets and food, about the methods of movement around the city (public transport, service car only, if necessary, the service Audi was replaced by minivan). Kolau posted on the Internet her income declaration and her university estimates. Many political performances of ADA are documented and poured into the network, there is even a quote, an beginnge of the cult of an ideal personality.

The mayor does not lose contact with the voters, because he lives in an ordinary apartment, knows the problems of his neighbors, constantly organizes meetings of "feedback" in different parts of the city, meets with the press, writes Facebook and Twitter. Barcelonians know that Ada Kolau rents an apartment with a partner, political activist Adria Alemani: they met in protest, write books and political programs together. In 2011, Ada had a son Lucas.

Kolau began a political career in my youth - with work in Amnesty International and Amics de la Gent Gran (helping the elderly). At 18, she began to study philosophy at the university and politics directly on the streets. She participated in actions against destructive educational reforms, in anti -globalist and anti -war protests, in the struggle for the right to housing for mortgages, for the right to medical care and education. She worked in many human rights lower organizations and social groups - and realized that social problems are not isolated from each other and can only be resolved in parallel.

Ada has always been the voice of the poor people, the voice of people who lost everything, not only at home and money, but also hopes for the future. Having become the mayor, she continued to act for the poorest. Having already held her post, she personally participated in the counting of the homeless on the streets of Barcelona (about 900 people), attends striking teams, demonstrations against refugees prisons, restored preferential school food for the children of the poor. Life has shown Ada many times that the poorests could win, only united - now the mayor of Barcelona repeats it day after day. Inequality for her is not just social injustice, the main threat to the economic capabilities and security of the city. Ada Kolau is building a more fair and more democratic city. Does it work?

Gender equality

Barcelona is declared a feminist city. The department of gender problems was created, a campaign against discrimination in the family was launched, budgets began to be compiled taking into account gender aspects. Kolau believes that any fair, innovative and inclusive city needs feminism, that a larger number of women should take part in the decision -making process. She says that 30% of women experienced serious chauvinistic attacks, speaks of male violence in society and in the family, about femicide, compares machism with plague. He knows how many women and girls die at the hands of men every year. It claims that if male violence, despite social work, does not disappear, then, due to machism, society is paralyzed, does not function. The legal system, the policy of prevention and protection do not work.

Barcelona connected to the inter -city program against domestic violence. The mayor urges people to go out and condemn male aggression, talk about violence with neighbors, with children, to speak publicly so that the problem is visible. According to the mayor, women should independently create network structures of mutual assistance. Ada Kolau advocates the fight against prostitution as sexual slavery and considers poverty among women not an individual problem, but a violation of their civil rights.

And what about homophobia? Ada created a council to resolve issues of the LGBT community and became the first mayor of Barcelona to head the gay parade. She herself carried a banner against the heteropatriarchal system.

Refugees

The capital of Catalonia is declared a city of refugees. Ada Kolau contributed to the installation on the beach in the Barcelonet meter of the number of refugees who died while trying to get to Europe on the Mediterranean Sea. On the counter it was written: "These are not just numbers, these are people." The mayor is fighting for radical changes in the policy of providing asylum in the EU, she offered a city plan with an initial value of 10.5 million euros for placement, assistance, and refugee rights. The plan includes first aid, temporary housing, permanent settlement and participation in employment programs, planned medical care.

The three magicians , with which Ada Kolau passed symbolic bread-salt and keys to the city during the traditional January holiday in 2017, "sailed" along the Mediterranean Sea and survived. One of them, Melchior, made a speech and miraculously turned out to be a political ally of the Barcelona City Hall (the role of the magician was played by the vice-mayor of Barcelona Haima Collboni, open gay). He urged the townspeople to think about the environment, sort garbage, use public transport, help the refugees integrate and “gave” the city government, full luck.

Rights of workers

The mayor has wreaths at the graves of anti -fascists, anarchists, enlighteners, and the leaders of the labor movement. He says that Barcelona will use its influence in the international arena to combat the illegal trade of Koltan , which is inextricably linked with the operation of children's labor in the Congo. Koltan is used in the production of phones. The city council will ensure that the phones are certified as not containing substances originating from the zones of military and acute social conflicts.

Ecology

Ada Kolau wants to install solar panels, energy -saving lamps, make effective water use and ultimately reduce utility bills and the degree of destructive influence of the city on the ecology of the region.

The problem of garbage in Barcelona has not yet been resolved. In 2016, free plastic bags were banned in Catalonia. There are no results of the project yet, since unconscious citizens continue to look for ways to get around the ban, inventing other types of free plastic packaging instead of plastic bags. People have not yet learned to sort garbage, they literally do not know what is possible and what can not be put in tanks. And the fact that is sorted out with grief in half is often on the sidewalk again, because many Barcelonians are so poor that they are forced to dive for luck into garbage containers. Anti -humor programs are generally successful only with the development of grassroots initiatives, when people are organized with the help of the Internet and arrange stocks of the type of flash mobs, conducting simultaneous garbage collection throughout the city, throughout the country. Well, or with giant fines.

Animal rights

In 2016, Barcelona was declared a city, friendly vegan and vegetarian cultures. It was decided to create a single BCNVEGPOINT inferity in order to inform consumers, businessmen, investors, public organizations about the dynamics of the vegan market. And also about where you can have a bite and where there are vegan shops. Vegan, I did not make a reservation: there is no error with an adjective or a plural. In a small amapola Vegan Shop ethical clothing store, I bought an acrylic hat with chanterelles. The Ecocentre supermarket may well compete for my heart with the Parisian Un Monde Vegan. In 2017, in Barcelona, you can also purchase vegan shrimp, crab sticks, fish, as well as the delicacies of the past, which will not surprise anyone - Seatan, Falafel, Humus, Cream, Vegan ice cream.

Even from the news of the zoo protection - the new mayor forbade to tie dogs for a long time. The dog cannot be left at home for one more than 12 hours. The cat, on the new law, can spend three days without the owner. And, of course, in Barcelona, all lovers of animal companions during walking enjoy cleaning. Rather, this is the law, although not everyone follows him.

A housing issue

Stop feeding tourism? That's right. The mayor plans to give all the money received using a tourist tax to the social sphere. No Eurocent tourist infrastructure.

The unlicensed placement of tourists is declared illegal, in many areas of the city there will no longer open hotels, existing hotels will close if they do not extend the license. This is done so that the city does not repeat the fate of Venice, does not turn into an entertainment park for tourists, so that it can develop infrastructure in the interests of its own residents.

Sites through which travelers could find inexpensive housing in the private sector also hit. Airbnb and HomeAway were fined 30,000 euros each, but did not suspend the work. Now they are facing fines for re -violation of the law, 600,000 euros each. These and dozens of other sites on which private traders try to earn money by renting apartments for rent. And the private traders themselves, of course, also write out considerable fines. On the balconies of residential buildings in the center of Barcelona, as well as along the coast, antituristic banners are now hanging on the Catalan CAP Pis Turistic , people go out to protests and block excursion buses, put in their areas posters against hostels, speculation, rising prices for renting housing, against the ugly behavior of tourists.

It turns out that on one side of the scales, colossal tourist money, on the other - the struggle for the personal boundaries of the community. And now, at this historical moment, for many Barcelonians, not enrichment, but identity is more important. By and large, in the historical perspective, this is beneficial for tourists, since they are attracted precisely by identity. Apparently, the solution to the problem is that restrictions on spontaneous tourism are introduced from below: residents of the houses must hold meetings and make decisions on the possibility or impossibility of sublease.

Sveta city

Ada Kolau refused to participate in traditional Catholic masses during the festival of the "patroness" of Barcelona out of respect for the secular democratic system. In 2016, the Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers sued the fact that the poet Dolors Mikel read the feminist poem Mare Nostra , who played at the Premios Ciutat de Barcelona , parody of the prayer “Our Father”.

Regional currency

Ada Kolau wants to introduce a new currency, Barcelona. Regional currencies usually contribute to economic stability in the region, because money begins to settle in this region, local residents receive benefits and discounts. For messages with the outside world, you need to change regional currency, tourists can continue to pay in euros. This is bad for the development of global trade relations, but in general for some time it can positively affect the development of local entrepreneurship, strengthens the infrastructure. Dozens of countries use regional currencies for these purposes, including Spain.

Independent Catalonia

“Spain?” Cried, having read this word, Ada Kolau. “Catalonia is not Spain! The Catalans are not the Spaniards! We have our own language, our flag, our anthem, our government, our laws, its own names, its own story!”

Kolau ordered to remove the bust of King Juan Carlos from the hall of meetings of the city government and some monarchical symbols - from the streets of the city. The Square of Juan Carlos I returned the old Catalan name Sink D'Oros, the royal hall of meetings is now called in honor of Carles Pi-i-Suner, the Republican mayor of the Catalan capital. Events in honor of the Day of the Constitution of Spain in Barcelona were canceled. Kolau refused to install giant football screens to broadcast matches of the Spanish team and fined those who put the screens.

Social significance

In 2016, in the ranking of influential people in Europe , compiled by Politico.eu , Ada Kolau was in 5th place. The mayor from European glory disowned: in her opinion, the rating exists to identify development trends-and therefore, the 5th place was taken by the process of transformations in Barcelona, the main role in which the townspeople themselves play.

Little female hobby

Hell loves to knit, but not in the usual meaning of this word. She loves to knit nets from cities. The establishment of connections with other women-mayors, the feminization of the political field is its main goal. Recently, three women, Ada Kolau, Manuel Carmen (mayor of Madrid), Ann Idalgo (mayor of Paris) wrote a manifesto, a new development program for European cities. What are the prospects of Ada in the sense of feminist travel? Is there so many cities in the world where women are the mayors? Cologne, Rome, Prague, Warsaw, Tokyo ...

Organization of International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics believes that so far there is a small number of women's mayors in the world. In 1886, there was not a single woman may in the United States. In December 2016, out of 100 mayors of the largest cities in the United States , only 19 were women . Most of the women in Mauritius (40%), in New Zealand (26%), Serbia (26%), Latvia (25%).

When I wrote this text, I told the mayor of Bergen Marte Mes Persen about the policy of Ada Kolau. Marta immediately wanted to meet Ada. I am not writing this because I want to demonstrate: I am on a short leg with the mayor, not at all. All the politically active residents of Bergen on a short leg with the mayor - because we are familiar from street protests against the deportation of refugees, against discrimination against women, against fascism and homophobia, and in trade union work. And also because Marta also uses public transport, also publishes information about her income, she is also our neighbor. This is the new political female ethics, which poses a terrible threat to the hierarchical patriarchal power.

Lyubava Malysheva- civil activist, documentary photographer, lives in Barcelona

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