Shortly before 12 pm, the 19th of June, minutes before the general strike is about to commence, a group of union activists gather outside the offices of CGT in Sevilla. They prepare themselves with flags and fliers, and after the 12th hour is struck, they set out to picket the city. The idea is to through information and dialogue persuade those who still work to join the strike.
Among the activists a couple of Swedes are found, mostly syndicalists from the SAC. Hannele Peltonen, the general secretary of the SAC, is one of them.

- We are here with a delegation of eleven persons who will attend the yearly industry-meetings of the syndicalist unions, she says.

- We support the CGT in the general strike and will participate in the picket, but probably not stand in the frontline.

The group of forty people begins to wander from pub to bar, which are the only businesses that might be open this late. They enter the premises and hand out fliers or stand outside and shout slogans.

Many choose to close down, but some refuse to even let in the activists and continue their business as good as they can with a cheering and booing crowd outside the door.

Kate, an US citizen, who is sitting in an irish pub which the activists just succeeded in closing says that "there are worse things in the world than not being able to have another beer."

The pickets, who not only will be active in Sevilla, but in the whole country, will continue operations during the morning and noon the 20th, to shut down everything from factories to shops and bank offices.

Fredrik Nathorst Westfelt Transl. Mikael Altemark

Yelah.net is a swedish bi-weekly libertarian internet magazine with over 40 000 readers a month.