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| Police kick out haundred of 15M indignados to allow Santander Bank event |
<<Many people have been perplex when gigantic tents appeared on Ciutat [Palma de Mallorca city] in Iceland Square, [main square of the city] set by Santander Bank in scope of advertising point. Yes, the same space that was vacated a few days ago a number of people who were quietly making an assembly, during the 15M acts. It was not the square of everybody? It seems that if your name is Santander Bank has more facilities. But who is this illustrious guest who has taken without permission our agora?
Santander Bank, a financial monster
As explained on its own website, Santander is a commercial bank based in Spain with presence in major international markets. It is the largest bank in the eurozone and is among the fifteen largest in the world in relation to market capitalization, with more than 50,000 million euros at the end of 2011, the year the bank earned 8.181 million euros of profit. Emilio Botin, chairman of Santander, is considered one of the most influential Spanish entrepreneurs, and has recently learned that he and his family had at least 2,000 million hidden in Swiss accounts[1].
- Guilty of the crisis
Santander Bank, one of the biggest banking and financial groups in the world, is directly responsible for the crisis we are suffering. Among other reasons, for having contributed to the speculative bubble developing and disseminating thousands of financial products opaque and highly risky. Santander Bank, like the other big banks, rating agencies used to legitimize the accounting fraud and cheated to further increase their profits [2].
- Controls all a media group
Santander, along with Goldman Sachs and HSBC, controls the Liberty Acquisition company, which owns 51% of the shares of Grupo PRISA, who has 100% of El País (national daily), Five Days (national review), Cadena Ser (national radio), Top 40 (national radio), Cadena Dial (national radio), M80 (national radio), Maxima FM (national radio), Radiolé (national radio), Canal + (TV-PPV), Plural Entertainment (national radio) and Editorial Santillana (editirs). In addition, PRISA controls 18% of the Mediaset Group [3].
- Kidnap democracy
The plutocracy is a system of government in which power is held by those with the forces of wealth. One of the main sources of the plutocracy is the illegal financing of political parties. In this sense, there are few voices that speak of the strong influence of banks -Santander bank among them- who have a very prominent and influential in public policy [4]. A few months ago Santander bank granted a loan of 100 million euros to the Balearic Government, we hope there are no surprises in the fine print [5].
- Evictions
Santander bank's role in the 58,241 evictions that occurred during 2011, the Spanish state record [6]. At the same time, Santander Bank has signed the "code anti-evictions" promoted by the Spanish Government a few weeks ago. This "gesture" of good will, like all Corporative Social Responsability policies can not hide that speculative housing Santander Bank practices remains the same and is a major source of all the problems.
- Armament
Santander Bank is the second Spanish financial institution with more investment in the weaponery sector and has revealed the important role of this entity in the production and marketing of weapons around the world. It was also reported their contribution during the last decade, with more than 1,000 million euros, production and marketing of weapons, directly responsible for human rights violations and millions of deaths worldwide [7].
- Investments that jeopardize the environment and human rights
Santander Bank has a stake in companies that are directly involved in social and environmental conflicts, especially in South America. One case, for example, is the investiment in a hydroelectric plant in Brazil, on the border between Santa Caratina and Rio Grande do Sul, where there is a conflict between local people and a company accused of violation of human rights, social, economic and ecological. At the same country there are other conflicts, as the case of a company cellulose is planting acres and acres of eucalyptus, which is killing the biodiversity of the region by creating a true "green desert". Companies associated with Santander group maintained similar conflicts related to power plants or natural resource extraction elsewhere in Brazil, but also in Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Mexico. Santander Bank is also involved in companies that have similar conflicts with indigenous peoples of New Caledonia and Indonesia [8].
- Laundering of drug money
Santander Bank was marred by a matter of laundering Mexican drug money, along with other big banks [9].
- Fraud to customers
Santander has been the first court conviction for selling the famous "Santander values", issuance of convertible amount of 7,000 million have been lost, thousands of customers, more than half of the money [10].
- Advertising obscene and cynical
Now it is clearer than ever the role of banks in the crisis and its impoverishing action of society and the social and labor rights, Santander conducts advertising campaigns that try to clean up their image by selling a false sense of philanthropy and service to society and the environment at the same time they invest, for example, funds that speculate on food prices and hunger cause the death of thousands of people [11].
- Outstanding intrusive role in higher education and research
Santander Bank is increasingly implemented in universities and has a prominent role in the process of privatization and commercialization of education and research that we are witnessing. Each year the bank makes juicy contributions in the form of grants, loans, sponsorship and research practices. Obviously it does so philanthropic, but does so knowing that gradually have more and more ability to influence the research agenda of universities [12].
- Its dome is steadily rising wages
Apart from saying publicly that banks have no blame for the crisis, the dome of Santander Bank raises the salary over 12% last year, and even declared figures for the daily allowance of 700 euros. That is, what a manager of Santander takes on diets every day, well above the minimum monthly wage of the Spanish [13].
These and other reasons make it clear that the tent of Santander Bank is an insult to the spirit of 15M and the recovery of public squares and public spaces that have lived the last year.
Santander Bank, you're not welcome in the square.>>
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