A left-wing mayor of a small town in Andalusia has become a modern-day Robin Hood, organizing robbing raids on local supermarkets to feed the poor of his community.
Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo has, over the past week, led several raids on supermarkets around the town of Marinaleda, near Seville in southern Spain, arguing that “someone has to do something so that families can eat.”
Sanchez, 53, a man with a bushy gray beard who has been mayor for 33 years and a member for the regional parliament of Andalusia for the United Left party (IU), did not take part in the raids themselves but stood outside the supermarkets directing his “comrades” over a megaphone.
At one Carrefour supermarket on Tuesday around a dozen carts were filled with staples such as milk, sugar, oil, pasta, before being wheeled through the checkout without payment.
Another similar looting, at a Mercadona in the neighboring town of Ecija occurred later the same day and Sanchez vowed the raids would continue.
“There are people who simply don’t have enough to eat,” explained Sanchez, describing the raids as a symbolic and peaceful reaction to the government’s handling of the economic crisis.
“We’ve decided to expropriate basic foodstuffs and give them to the soup kitchens, which are struggling to provide for everyone because demand has increased.”
The major political parties have condemned the raids, which come at a time when Spain is grappling with deep austerity cuts and a nationwide unemployment of nearly 25 percent.
In the Andalusia region, where the collapse of the construction industry has hit particularly hard, the unemployment rate has soared to nearly 34 percent.
Five people have been arrested for taking part in the raids but police have not arrested Sanchez because of his position as regional MP. Instead, he has been asked to give a statement in front of an investigating magistrate.
Sanchez’s actions have led him to be dubbed in the nation's press as “the Robin Hood of Spain” and “the revolutionary of Andalusia.”
Marinaleda, a town of 3,000 residents run by Sanchez since 1979, has attracted people from across Spain to join its farming cooperative and municipal housing program.
安达卢西亚地区一个小镇的左翼市长成了现代版的罗宾汉，竟纠集民众抢劫当地的超市接济社区贫困者。
马里纳莱达镇位于西班牙南部的塞维利亚附近，在过去的一周内，胡安?曼纽尔?桑切斯?戈迪略数次领导民众抢劫该镇周边的超市，并称“必须有人来做些什么，这样人们才有饭吃。”
现年53岁的桑切斯蓄着一脸浓密的花白胡子，他已经做了33年的市长，是联合左翼党安达卢西亚地区议会的议员。不过，他本人并未直接参与抢劫，而是站在超市外面，通过扩音器指挥他的“同志们”。
周二在一家附近的家乐福超市，十二辆购物车没有付款就冲出了收银台，车中装满了日常必需品，如牛奶，糖，油，还有意大利面。
当天晚些时候，相邻的埃希哈镇内一家梅尔卡多纳超市也同样遭遇打劫，桑切斯还发誓袭击仍将继续。
“还有人连饭都吃不饱。”桑切斯解释道。据他描述，这些抢劫只是象征性的，是对政府处理经济危机不力的一种和平的抗议方式。
“我们已经决定征用基本食品，并将它们捐赠给粥厂，由于需求增加，那里正在竭力为每个人提供食物。”
西班牙各主要政党纷纷谴责抢劫行为，此时的西班牙正努力应对深度紧缩性削减，全国失业率几近25%。
安达卢西亚地区受建筑业崩溃的冲击尤其大，当地失业率曾一度飙升至34%。
到目前为止，已有5人因参与抢劫被捕，但由于桑切斯的身份是当地议会议员，警方尚未对其实施逮捕。不过，他被要求在预审法官面前陈辞。
桑切斯的行为使得他在本国媒体中获得了“西班牙的罗宾汉”，以及“安达卢西亚的革命者”的绰号。
从1979年开始便由桑切斯领导的马里纳莱达镇有3000位居民，该镇吸引了来自全国各地的人们来加入其农业合作和市政住房项目。
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