Report on Lobbying and Campaigning in Spain by Carlos Umaña
Report on Lobbying and campaigning in Spain By Carlos Umaña Foreword As I set out to write a report on our very successful visit with Setsuko, in what I will later refer to as the “Setsukuo Caravan”, I realized that some context was necessary. Setsuko herself found it strange that I, a Costa Rican, living in Costa Rica, was somehow able to move things around in Spain. This report is, by no means, a comprehensive account of the anti-nuclear movement in Spain, in which many brave and hard-working people have participated over many years, long before I ever gave nuclear weapons a second thought. ICAN’s involvement in Spain, and its many activities carried out by its partners also precede my involvement with the Spanish movement. What I will talk about in this report are, for the most part, activities that I have personally been involved in, specifically around the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the TPNW. As will be clear from this report, all our achievements have been a group effort. We have been able to further our cause because of the hard work of well-meaning, tenacious, kind and humble people. And all our actions, collectively, build up to generate an increasing awareness on the nuclear weapons issue that ultimately will steer its government in the right direction. These are exciting times. We have found that, just by scratching the surface, there is a great social movement willing to take action. Nuclear disarmament needs a paradigm shift, a social change led by empowered people that will stigmatize these weapons and remove them from the pedestal they have been on for so long.
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