“An emergency situation may be necessary to accommodate civil disobedience, not only in our political language, but also in our political system. An emergency situation really approaches when the institutions of a country cease to function properly and the authority loses its power” –Hanna Arendt, Civil disobedience (1971)–

On 14 March, the Spanish Government declared a state of alarm and ordered parents to stay in their homes for 24 hours. The lockdown for children under the age of 14 lasted for six weeks. Children had to stay at home while the authorities kept thousands of non-basic workers in their jobs. All this, between assumptions and rumors that the children were large “transmission vectors” of the coronavirus. When they finally got out on the street, we couldn't go out as a family. The playgrounds were closed, the parking meters worked.

With the exception of Italian, there was no government in Europe that applied such tough measures to children. For example, the French State allowed all citizens to leave for an hour, even in less populated regions such as Paris and the Grand Est (it has even guaranteed this possibility for a second lockdown).

In an article published on 24 March, a “spokesperson” of the Vice-Presidency of the Social Area stated: “For example, if we allowed children under the age of 4 to leave with one of their parents, they would have two million people on the street and this would represent a new risk situation that we consider unacceptable” (El País, 24-03-2020). A few months later, Sebastian Walsh, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, an expert in public health, described this “risk” management as a “social interaction budget” that each country should decide to “dissipate”. For example, “if we use a part to get kids back to school, we won’t be able to use it for rock concerts” elDiario.es, 06-06-2020. It seems that the privatizations and cutbacks suffered by the national health system for years, along with the late government response, left a very small budget. Thus, in order to keep non-basic workers in their jobs and minimize the damage to the economic system that cannot be stopped for ten days, it was also necessary to save on the children's walks.

This confinement to Spanish can be explained, at least in part, with two simple variables. According to data from 2017, Spain had 297 hospital beds per 100,000 inhabitants, including private beds. This figure stood at 320 in 2008 and 365 in 2000. The WHO recommends having between 800 and 1000 beds, a figure that only covers Germany with 800, while the European average is 504 (El Salto, 14-3-2020). However, according to Eurostat data for 2017, there are 360 policemen in the Spanish state per 100,000 inhabitants, while in Europe the average is 326; Germany has 299 (Arainfo, 27-03-2020).

So things, despite the savings accumulated in child displacement and the lockdown with news terrors and thousands of fines, on March 30, with many communities near the collapse, the government suspended non-essential activities until April 9.

However, as soon as the contents of the decree were known, the PNV and the Basque Government, fervent supporters of the submission of the state to industrial capitalism, turned against power and pressed for workers to remain in their jobs. Thus, while our children were forced to stay at home, our neighbor Q went every day to work for a company dedicated to the manufacture and export of weapons (Saudi Arabia, one of its regular customers who has continued to bomb Yemen during the epidemic).

Following the lifting of the state of alarm, in June the central government transferred to the autonomous communities the management of the epidemic. Most of the latter, in addition to infecting each other arbitrary measures such as the use of the mask on the street at all times, by strengthening health and especially primary care (with silence perhaps complicit or perhaps interested in Pedro Sánchez's cabinet), committed improper and blamed society. After all, if you see the guilty citizens, you don't have to be accountable to society.

Coming into autumn, in the face of increased hospital occupancy, on 25 October the government set up a new state of alarm, on this occasion leaving some powers in the hands of the autonomous governments. On Wednesday 28, the headline of the cover of El Correo said: “The Basque Government will reorder the confinements if the measures that have just been adopted fail.” The following day, Emergency Coordinator Fernando Simon confirmed: “We have fewer and fewer measures before lockdown to take them.” Neither of them reveals the type or degree of confinement to which they refer.

As a measure, it should be remembered that the scarce impact of the coronavirus on children is well established and that it is completely ruled out that it is dangerous ‘transmission vectors’. In addition, it is known that the risk of street infection is low. We therefore believe that the complete detention of children at home is not justified. Central and autonomous governments, together with municipalities and social movements (heard and silent, if firm), must guarantee the possibility of going out to the streets every day of every person, family and unit of coexistence. Otherwise, we shall return to the times of conscientious objection, insubordination and, perhaps, civil disobedience.

We see ourselves in the street.

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*This document is signed by Maider López, Ander Berrojalbiz and 99 others