Yes, it is possible! Framing processes and social resonance of Spain’s anti-eviction movement

Abstract

There are few empirical studies on the cultural consequences of social movements. This article contributes to alleviating this problem, examining the cultural outcomes produced by the action of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH), one of the most important social movement organizations to appear in Spain in the 2010s. Concretely, through qualitative methods, we analyse the content and form of the PAH’s discourse and the communicative practices developed to disseminate it to the population. Following, we examine this diffusion using quantitative methods. The article shows that PAH activists produced a discourse with a form and content that sought to achieve alignment with the common sense of the majority of the population, that their communicative practices took advantage of the opportunities offered by social and mass media, and, lastly, that the PAH’s diagnosis and proposals resonated among a majority of the population.

Three decades of the framing perspective on social movements: Changing trends and continuities

“…Finally, the third type present the thematic novelty of studying the framing of SMs as a facilitator of cultural change. In our sample this issue is addressed by Snow et al (2013) and outside the sample also by Barranco and Parcerisa (2020).…”

“…First, she suggests that the difference between resonance and alignment is that ‘frame resonance is a frame attribute, as in some frames resonating more than others, while frame alignment can be attributed to something individuals do’ (p. 344). Second, she proposes to measure resonance ‘by comparing the discourse of the frame articulators (SMO) and the frame receivers (participants)’ (p. 347), which is also the course followed by Barranco and Parcerisa (2020), but taking as receivers the general public.…”

“…Barranco and Molina, 2021) and of the Spanish anti-evictions movement (e.g. Barranco and Parcerisa, 2020).…”

The outcomes of residential squatting activism in the context of municipalism and capitalism in Madrid and Barcelona (2015–2019)

“…In other words, these "new" squatters had a different class-relation to housing-which reflects the third way according to Hetland and Goodwin (2013) in which capitalism can shape social movement. In other words, the reframing by the PAH activists of "squatting" as "recuperation" can be explained by the different class-identity of those represented, and it helped to garner support for this protest activity (Barranco & Parcerisa, 2020). However, we wonder how far the housing movement has been successful in translating such support into concrete outcomes, especially in cities with relatively "friendly" municipalist coalitions.…”

Why do opt-out movements succeed (or fail) in low-stakes accountability systems? A case study of the Network of Dissident Schools in Catalonia

“…La estrategia comunicativa de la XEI, al igual que sucedió con otros movimientos sociales contemporáneos en España, estuvo fuertemente influenciada por el movimiento de los indignados (Álvarez-Ruiz & Núñez, 2016;Barranco & Parcerisa, 2020). Las redes sociales desempeñaron un rol central en la estrategia de comunicación externa de la XEI, que supo tomar ventaja del uso de plataformas como Facebook, Twitter y Youtube, para divulgar sus mensajes y difundir las convocatorias de sus acciones de protesta.…”