Media Blockage, Social Networks and the Citizen’s Unrest- An Understanding of Spain’s 15-M Movement

Abstract

he M-15 has been the most important movement that Spain has seen in the past years. This article analyzes the M-15 phenomenon by studying the four elements that are believed to be at the root of its causes and of the enormous social support it attained. Secondary data analysis was used to study blockage of public debate, how social media accelerate political impact, activist groups and the unrest of Spanish society. Analyzing public opinion concluded in an understanding that crisis management caused the economic issue in the crisis to become a social issue, which later evolved into a political issue expressed in an overall restlessness towards the political situation and the government. The onset of the M-15 was an asset to the eruption of the unrest that had accumulated, turning a small act of protest organized by minority groups into a wave of citizen rejection.