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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.