Kukutza was a ''gaztetxe'' (
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 ...
) in the neighbourhood of
Recalde,
Bilbao
)
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. It operated as a
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
free space between 1996 and 2011. It was used as a youth, unemployed and cultural centre. In those 15 years it had 3 different buildings. The first one, Kukutza I, was used in 1996 and just for 3 months, then Kukutza II in 1998 and for 2 months, and finally, Kukutza III, open between 1998 and 2011 and had a large activity programme. It was set in an abandoned factory and closed in 2011 because it was violently evicted by the police.
From the very beginning, Kukutza provided the neighbours of
Recalde with cultural and spare time activities, which were not offered by institutions. In the case of Kukutza III, it was a meeting place for many local groups. Moreover, it had influences in the whole of
Bilbao
)
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and even started being a reference point for artists from all over the
Basque country.
Kukutza I
In 1996, Kukutza I was
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
by the young people of Recalde, Irala, Indautxu, Basurto and Zornotza. It was the first "gaztetxe" in Recalde, and was a building that had been empty for 11 years. Three months later it was demolished, without any notice. Two days later the "gaztetxe" Mina del Morro od Santutxu was also demolished, and the same year the Mayor of Bilbao,
Josu Ortuondo
Jesús MarÃa Sáenz "Josu" Ortuondo (born 6 November 1951) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right winger, and a manager.
Playing career
Born in Ondarroa, Biscay, Basque Country, Ortuondo was an Athletic Bilbao youth graduate. ...
, also ordered the eviction of the "gaztetxe" of the old town of Bilbao.
Kukutza II
Kukutza II was occupied in 1998 on Larraskitu street in Recalde. The
Ertzaintza
The (, en, Public Guard or ''People's Guard''), is the autonomous police force for the Basque Country, largely replacing the Spanish PolicÃa Nacional (National Police) and Guardia Civil (Civil Guard). An Ertzaintza member is called an ''e ...
(Basque Public Guard) tried to evict from the first day onwards but they were unable to do so. In June, toxic substances were found and the place was closed provisionally. In June 1998, it was definitively evicted, with 4 people arrested.
Kukutza III
Occupation
Kukutza III began August 6, 1998, with the occupation of the old factory Cerezo in Recalde. There were many legal problems with the building, and the neighbours of Recalde asked for it to be used as a cultural centre. Although some institutions claimed that the building was perfect for cultural activities, the town hall did not give it any protection.
Activities
The centre hosted many types of activities, such as dance and hiking groups, a library, a canteen, a pub, theatre classes. In 2011, its eviction was ordered so it could be replaced with housing, but now nothing was built and local shopkeepers have stated the neighbourhood has lost its life. To protest the eviction, hundreds of users of the project made a ten-minute
lip dub
A lip dub is a type of music video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in po ...
video.
Eviction and demolition
On September 21, 2011, the police helped the
Ertzaintza
The (, en, Public Guard or ''People's Guard''), is the autonomous police force for the Basque Country, largely replacing the Spanish PolicÃa Nacional (National Police) and Guardia Civil (Civil Guard). An Ertzaintza member is called an ''e ...
in the eviction of the building, an action which was later criticised by the
ELA
Ela or ELA may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Basque Workers' Solidarity (Basque: '), a trade union
* Earth Liberation Army
* ELA Aviación, a Spanish aircraft manufacturer
* English Lacrosse Association
* Equatorial Launch Australia, ...
union.
The police entered the building at 05:30 and fired plastic bullets at activists.
The demonstrations protesting against the eviction resulted in many riots all over Bilbao for the next few days.
As a result of the riots, 810 rubbish bins were knocked over, and some of them were also burnt or broken. In addition, 10 vehicles were burnt and the ''
batzokis'' (social centres of the
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...
) of Recalde and the old town were attacked. The damages were estimated at €140,000. 64 people were arrested in the demonstrations and 76 medical reports of injuries and 53 complaints for police brutality were recorded.
The mayor of Bilbao,
Iñaki Azkuna
Iñaki Azkuna Urreta (14 February 1943 – 20 March 2014) was a Spanish politician of the Basque Nationalist Party. He was mayor of the city of Bilbao, Biscay in the Basque Country, from 1999 until his death. In 2012, Azkuna won the World May ...
, and the home affairs councillor,
Rodolfo Ares, defended the police action in these incidents. However, it was called to be disproportionate by the
Ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
Iñigo Lamarca.
[La actuación de la Ertzaintza en Kukutza fue desproporcionada](_blank)
''EiTB'', 24 May 2012.[Goikoetxea, AgustÃn]
El Ararteko pone en cuestión el violento desalojo de Kukutza III
, ''Gara'', 25 May 2012 The building was then demolished on September 24.
Judicial processes
Although most of the prosecutions against the police were closed as a result of the impossibility of identifying the implicated officers, one was found guilty and had to pay a fine and victim compensation for assaulting a woman "unnecessarily". He was filmed kicking her in the stomach.
In addition, most of the people processed for taking part in the demonstrations were absolved.
El abogado de los acusados denuncia que el solar de Kukutza sigue vacÃo
''Naiz'', 28 January 2015. Four teenagers were convicted for attacking a policeman. Two German activists were found not guilty. In February 2015, one of the people arrested in the eviction was convicted to 3 years in prison for aggravated assault on officers.[Solo un condenado en el ‘caso Kukutza’](_blank)
, ''Deia'', 8 February 2015.
Successor
In October 2012, a factory outside Bilbao was squatted as a successor to Kukutza. It is called Txirbilenea.
See also
* Errekaleor
* Squatting in Spain
Squatting in Spain refers to the occupation of unused or derelict buildings or land without the permission of the owner. In Francoist Spain migrant workers lived in slums on the periphery of cities. During the Spanish transition to democracy, resi ...
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Blog del gaztetxe Kukutza
*
La historia y el trabajo del gaztetxe Kukutza
».
*
Kukutza: Crónica de 3 dÃas de ocupación de un barrio
».
{{Authority control
Autonomism
Basque Country (autonomous community)
Bilbao
Infoshops
Squats in Spain