At the entrance of some public buildings in Gernika-Lumo you can read the following sign: “This building is owned by the municipality and, therefore, the patrimony of the citizenship of Gernika-Lumo”. 24 December 2005, Ieup! When, on the initiative of the youth assembly, some 60 young people entered the former Astra arms factory, Astra was not yet municipal property. It was then quite clear that it was intended to use the entire environment of the former factory for speculation, and one of the aspirations of the occupation was to recover a building that the citizens felt to be their own and to free themselves from speculation – which they felt, among other things, because it was one of the buildings that remained standing after the bombing and because several generations of Gernikarras worked there. In addition, it was a question of solving a traditional requirement of local associations – making more public places – as the non-tourist culture was secondary to the city council. It was not municipal property yet, but the city would buy it on May 10, 2006, due to the pressure that was put on it, and I would say that, over time, one of the purposes of those of us who participated in Astra has been to comply with that cartel of municipal buildings. Everyone can understand that a building is the heritage of citizenship, of course, but we think and believe that what is the heritage of the people must be managed by the citizens.

The first occupation brought with it the first eviction, but peacefully went out into the street and immediately a proposal of three points was made public: That Astra is a public building and that takes care of its heritage, that it is a space for sociocultural activities and that the young people of Gernika-Lumo and the network of associations can decide in a participatory way their future. By the time they entered for the second time in February, citizenship, cultural associations and the social movement showed in different ways their support for the members of the youth assembly, and on this occasion there was no eviction. It was then that he began to prepare what would be indispensable in the evolution of Astra: the participatory process zerokm. It was not intended that what was occupied by young people should be managed only by young people. Astra was an emblematic building for the people, the lack of space was not only a problem for the young, so we wanted to prepare the broadest possible process to decide, through a direct democracy, what Astra should be. To this end, they contacted the research group of the UPV/EHU Part Hartuz, an expert in participatory democracy, to concretize the methodology of the process. Open meetings were organized, aimed at all citizens, involving between 100 and 125 people and about 25 associations.

This process, which lasted about a year and a half, led to the Astra project. In particular, the foundations of the philosophy of Astra were agreed (promotion of social participation, self-management, promotion of cultural creation, enjoyment of culture, promotion of the Basque Country, non-profit, intergenerational, intercultural, guaranteeing and promoting gender equality, a space for sustainable development, antimilitarist, a space for memory). In addition, the operation and financing of Astra was decided. At Astra, it was decided that decisions would be taken in a participatory manner through the Astra Coordinator. The coordinator consists of cultural associations and the social movement of the people, and also brings together people who do not participate in associations and groups (meetings are open).

In June 2007, there was a change in the municipal government and the arrival of an EA group to the council and the left Abertzale. The new City Hall carried out load tests to find out the state of the structure of Astra and the result was very negative: the report said that the building was deteriorated and that it had to be rebuilt. We agreed with the City Hall that the activities we carried out in Astra would be suspended, but without leaving the place officially. The City Hall promised us that it would leave us a replacement post until Astra's repair. In fact, although I have not made any mention, during the occupation of Astra various activities were carried out (concerts, conferences, film screenings, etc. ).

For the coordinator, the most important thing was to agree that the Astra project should be launched in the building once it has been resolved, and to this end the Astra commission, an extraordinary and open cultural commission, was launched. All the political parties present at the City Hall were invited and all of them participated to some extent. In July, an agreement was signed between a member of the Coordinator and the Mayor. Among others, the following points were agreed: After the reconstruction of Astra by the City Hall, its use and management will be carried out by the Astra Coordinator; the definition and distribution of the spaces of Astra will be carried out through a participative process batkm.

Therefore, a participative process batkm was also carried out, with the help of Part Hartuz, to analyze the needs of the spaces of Astra, define architectural criteria and design the architectural project. Also in this case, the intention of the process was to make the decisions as broadly as possible. Philosophical and ideological criteria (energy self-sufficiency, lack of social control, complementarity with other cultural resources of the people, equality, etc.) were defined after the meetings. and desired spaces (large and adaptable spaces, circular space for meetings, small classrooms for work, etc.) ).

With the process underway, a debate arose about the Guggenheim Museum 2. The Basque Government presented the regional development plan, as opposed to the one promoted by the Provincial Council, and within the Creativity Workshops project, we learned that it was willing to subsidize the reconstruction of Astra. At the moment, the information started coming out, rather than receiving it firsthand, and we have felt that the Coordinator has been abandoned. To me, at least, the fear of the institutions to the participating structures, the need to feel everything controlled becomes evident.

This is roughly the process that Astra has followed so far. One of the most important parts of the process has been the participatory definition of what Astra has to be, and after the reconstruction of Astra, which will soon begin the works, it is intended to begin to apply the defined ones. Implement the management of the building in a participatory manner and that anyone who wants the building to be prepared can opt for cultural creation or show what has been created. Astra is not a rigid structure, and it will be what those who want to participate agree.