Can Vies (also known as ''Centre Social Autogestionat Can Vies'') is a building located in the
Sants neighborhood of
Barcelona, built in 1879. It has been
squatted since 1997, when a group of youths occupied it and began using it as a
self-managed social centre
Self-managed social centers, also known as autonomous social centers, are self-organized community centers in which anti-authoritarians put on voluntary activities. These autonomous spaces, often in multi-purpose venues affiliated with anarchi ...
and
infoshop
Infoshops are places in which people can access anarchist or autonomist ideas. They are often stand-alone projects, or can form part of a larger radical bookshop, archive, self-managed social centre or community centre. Typically, infoshops offer ...
. In late May 2014, riots broke out in a successful attempt to stop an eviction. The building was partially demolished and rebuilt by the local community.
Eviction attempt
In May 2014, negotiations took place between the owners of the building, Barcelona's public transport operator
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) is the main public transit operator in Barcelona. A combination of two formerly-separate companies, ''Ferrocarril Metropolità de Barcelona, SA.'' and ''Transports de Barcelona, SA.'', it runs most of th ...
and the
squatters.
After the negotiations failed, the building was evicted on May 26, and demolition works commenced.
As a result, Barcelona experienced riots and protests during the following nights. The protests also spread to the cities of
Madrid,
Mallorca and
Valencia.
The government sent an additional 200 police officers to Barcelona to help in dealing with the protests.
In a successful attempt to stop the demolition, protesters built
barricade
Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denot ...
s and set the
excavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fro ...
on fire.
Reconstruction
The building was resquatted and a community-based reconstruction program begun.
The local government announced on May 30, that the building would not be demolished.
Can Vies launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund the rebuilding costs, which were estimated at €70,000.
In the end, €90,000 was quickly raised.
See also
*
Squatting in Spain
References
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Barcelona
Squats in Spain
Squats
Squatting
Infoshops