A worse unemployment rate than Greece. A Spanish economic miracle turned catastrophe. A lost generation of indignados with no homes, no work, and no faith in the system. An austerity government who in nine months have already pushed miners to armed conflict, firing home-made rocket launchers at riot police. An Economics Minister whose last job was director of the Spanish branch of Lehman Brothers.
And right in the middle of the Andalucian countryside is Marinaleda, a little-known communist utopia led by the charismatic poet-rebel, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo: a town of landless labourers who for over 30 years since the death of Franco, have fought capitalism - and won.
In this travelogue through Spain's violent past and febrile present, Dan Hancox finds a lost generation in search of answers beyond the confines of capitalism, and an extraordinary community who have already created their own answer.
“Hancox captures the optimism necessary for alternative ways of doing politics, economics and living together. As the borderline between dream and reality shimmers in the heat of Andalucia, we begin to wonder if living as if change were indeed possible is the very key to making actual change happen. Do we really have any other choice?” - Suzanne Moore, The Guardian
“It sounds like science fiction: a small rural town led by a charismatic mayor tries to turn itself into a communist utopia. But it's fact - it's happening right now in Andalucia, and colliding with the region's real-world history of violent rebellion and radicalism. Hancox's book could not be more timely - with Spain on the brink of social crisis and the shadows of the past emerging.” - Paul Mason, Economics Editor, BBC Newsnight
And right in the middle of the Andalucian countryside is Marinaleda, a little-known communist utopia led by the charismatic poet-rebel, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo: a town of landless labourers who for over 30 years since the death of Franco, have fought capitalism - and won.
In this travelogue through Spain's violent past and febrile present, Dan Hancox finds a lost generation in search of answers beyond the confines of capitalism, and an extraordinary community who have already created their own answer.
“Hancox captures the optimism necessary for alternative ways of doing politics, economics and living together. As the borderline between dream and reality shimmers in the heat of Andalucia, we begin to wonder if living as if change were indeed possible is the very key to making actual change happen. Do we really have any other choice?” - Suzanne Moore, The Guardian
“It sounds like science fiction: a small rural town led by a charismatic mayor tries to turn itself into a communist utopia. But it's fact - it's happening right now in Andalucia, and colliding with the region's real-world history of violent rebellion and radicalism. Hancox's book could not be more timely - with Spain on the brink of social crisis and the shadows of the past emerging.” - Paul Mason, Economics Editor, BBC Newsnight
