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BANKING,CREATIVEACTIVISMANDTHEATRE:THEHAZTEBANQUEROSTORY

BYJULIARONE

Thisarticlewaswrittenby JuliaRone,aBulgarian friendwhohasbeen researchingsocialactivisminthewakeofthefinancialcrisis.ShedescribeshowtheSpanishactivistgroup,XNET,areprosecutingfraudulentbankersandpoliticiansinthecourtsandinthetheatre.Whilethelegal proceedings continue, 'Become a Banker', has been seen by almost 10,000 peopleinBarcelona,Madrid,Valencia,ACoruña,GironaandTàrrega,helpingensurethatthetruthisunderstoodandremembered.(It'salsoavailableonline,inaversionwithEnglishsubtitles.)Thestoryisnotover,butthroughthiscitizenstheatre,XNETarekeepingattentiononthetruecausesofthehardshipundergonebySpanishpeople.

FrançoisMatarasso

Imagine being one of the most powerful bankers of Spain. Imagine experiencing the

financialcrisis,witnessingmillionsofpeoplegoingtothestreetsafterlosingtheirsavings,

theirmortgages,theirfuture.Seethemshouting,marching,occupying.Andthenimagine

someoneleakingtothepublicallyourprofessionalemailswithdetailsof lavishspending

andmisdeeds.Imagineacourttrialandsomeonebraveenough(artisticallyandpolitically)

tomakeadata-basedtheatreplayoutofallthis.

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TheplayHazteBanquero(BecomeaBanker)is‘atruestoryand,assuch,itisdramaticbut,

mostofall, it isabsurdandatrociouslycomical’,astheproducersfromX-netdescribeit.

XNET is an activist collective that deals with topics such as free culture, technopolitics,

network democracy, and citizen journalism. They have been very active ever since the

IndignadosprotestsinSpain,andthisishowIgottoknowtheirwork.ButwhenIentered

TeatreElMusicalinValenciatowatchtheirplayIhadmydoubtsaboutwhatIwasgoingto

see. Would it be one of the many naive and moralistic tales of bankers that flooded

Hollywoodscreensafter thecrisis?Would Ihave to like it justbecause I agreewith the

politicalmessage?Asasocialmovementsresearcher,I’musedtoexploringcitizenaction

onthestreetsandonsquares,onmail listsandFacebookpages–buttheatreandsocial

movements?Thecombinationmademeuncomfortable.

Andyet,fromtheveryfirstmoment,theplayengagedme,dispersedmydoubtsandfilled

theempty spacewithdata.Director SimonaLevi and theXNET team read thousandsof

leakedemailstochoosethemoststrikingonesandsetthemasdrama.Withthehelpofa

bigscreen,interactivegraphics,andseveralgreatactorsrepresentingthekeyfiguresinCaja

Madrid–allmale,ofcourse–XNETguidedusthroughacomplexschemeofcorruption,

self-enrichment,andrevolvingdoorsbetweenpoliticsandfinance.

InGreektragedy,thecharacterssufferirrationaldivinecursesandcannotescapetheirfate.

Incontrast,HazteBanquerotellsthestoryofamodern,man-madecrisisthatcouldhave

beenavoided–hadtheprotagonistsshownanymoralconstraints.Theplotissogripping

becausealltheeventsdescribedreallytookplace,although,themoredetailsemerge,the

moreunbelievableitallseems.Yes,banksupervisorsandtopemployeesofCajaMadriddid

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have ‘black’ credit cards for unlimited spending. Yes, the bank did transfer money to

‘charitable’ foundations of all political parties in Spain, including the far left. Yes, Caja

Madriddidsellfloatingratestockstothousandsofinexperiencedcustomers,makingthem

believetheywerefixed-rate.Allthisreallyhappened.Alltheatreaudienceshavetosuspend

disbelief,toacceptthe‘reality’oftheplay.WatchingHazteBanquero,youhadtosuspend

disbelieftoacceptrealityitselfasreal.

Infact,unlikemostforeigners,thegeneralpublicinSpainisfamiliarwithmanyofthefacts

aroundCajaMadridanditssuccessorBankia,presidedbyRodrigoRato.Butoneoftruth’s

weaknessesisthatit’seasilyforgotten,setasidewhilewedealwithmoreurgenteveryday

duties.HazteBanquerorevealsthetruthinthedata–andithelpspreventitfrombeing

forgotten.Theplayreenactstruthinfrontofus,makesuslaugh,feelshockedandoutraged,

andthisemotionalconnectioniswhatguaranteesthattruthwillnotbeforgottenanymore.

HazteBanquerohasadoublegoal.First,itshowswhathappened,sothatitwillnothappen

again.Thisistheawareness-raisingtask.Secondly,itseeksjusticeandexposespeoplewho

shouldassumeresponsibilityfortheiractions.Themembersoftheaudiencechangefrom

beingpassivewitnessesoftheirpersonalcrisestobeingactiveparticipantsinaquestfor

justice.Theplayfunctionsasarecordandawarningsign,aforensicanalysisandaprotest

march

Leakingdataisariskypoliticalact.Performingthatdata,turningnumbersandwordsinto

feelings,ispoliticallyandartisticallydangerous.HazteBanqueromanagestobeapowerful,

entertainingplaywithanseriousmessage.Itsucceedsbothinitsartisticandpoliticalgoals.

Butultimately,theXNETartistsdonotdistinguishbetweenthetwo.Ascitizensweneedto

actinordertopreventcorruptionandirresponsibility.ThisiswhyXNETorganizedacrowd-

fundingcampaigntofinancetheircontinuingprosecutionofbankexecutives.Ascitizens,

wetoomustact, inthesenseofperform,andreachouttoothersandmakeourcauses

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known. Theatrebecomesa formofpolitical action, away tobring togetherpeople and

inspirethemtoactontheirdestiny.

By seeing the bankers as protagonists on stage, citizens understand better the real-life

bankerswho,inafamousadcampaign,encouragedthemto“becomebankers”–andthen

defraudedthem.Strippedoftheirillusionsandarmedwithinformation,citizenscanidentify

withthebankersonstage.Strippedoftheirimpunity,once-untouchablebankersidentify

withordinarycitizensinreallife.Theyareputtotrialandtheyfacetheconsequencesof

theiractions.Thischangeofrolesisnotwelcometoanyoneinvolved.Butitisnecessary.

ThetrialandtheplayaretwofacesofoneprocessofcitizenengagementinitiatedbyXNET.

On the23rd February2017,MiguelBlesawas sentenced to six years imprisonment, and

RodrigoRatotofourandahalf,onchargesrelatedtotheblackcreditcardsscandal.They

bothappealedtotheSupremeCourtandarecurrentlynotinjailthankstotheir‘exemplary’

conductduringthetrial.Westilldon’tknowwhetherself-organizedcitizenswillmanageto

changetheendofthisplayofprivilegeandimpunityweallknowtoowell.Butwhatever

happens,thepremiseoftheplayhaschanged.Fromsecondarycharactersinoursociety,

citizenshavebecomeprotagonistsandtakencentrestage.Whocouldimaginethis?

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JuliaRoneiscurrentlyfinishingherPhDattheDepartmentofSocialandPoliticalSciencesat

the European University Institute, Florence. Her research explores social mobilizations

againstfreetradeagreements,withafocusonframinganddiffusionofideas.Inaddition,

shestudieshacktivism,digitaldisobedience,andstrugglesindefenseofInternetFreedom.

With thanks to Simona Levi and XNET for permission to include photographs from the

production.