Raúl Castells

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Raúl Castells (born 1950 in Rosario) is a controversial Argentine political activist. He is the leader of an organization called "Independent Movement for the Retired and Unemployed" (in Spanish, Movimiento Independiente de Jubilados y Desocupados, MIJD), a piquetero group.

Castells moved in 1984 to Santa Fe, where he would spend the next twenty years. He has been detained a number of times under the administration of President Néstor Kirchner; he and his supporters have protested that he is being subject to political persecution. Though Castells has sympathizers in Argentina, many other people disagree with his views.

In 2004, Castells and three others were accused of extortion and brought to trial. Castells was found innocent in November 2004, and decided to return to Buenos Aires for the first time in twenty years. Opinion among Buenos Aires residents about his return was split: while a group welcomed him at Ezeiza International Airport, others protested against his presence in the capital city.

Castells was again accused of extortion after he and a group of his followers protested in front of a McDonald's fast food restaurant in Buenos Aires on 2004-12-09. At the time, Castells blocked the entrance of the restaurant for three hours and demanded to be given 50,000 food rations to be delivered to poor children before Christmas. He was tried on this charge on 2005-12-05.

Including the two incidents above, Castells has been accused of five different charges in six years.

Castells has had a new documentary made about him and his movement, called Raúl The Terrible. It was made by Australian political filmmaker David Bradbury, a 'warts-and-all portrait of a man driven to change the world and a frightening insight into the politics of poverty.'

In the beginning of March 2006, Castells was given permission to open a community kitchen for poor people at Puerto Madero, the most expensive and wealthy neighbourhood in the city. The site was donated by a business owner in the area who got his permit revoked. The building, offering free food to the poor, is situated opposite the Hilton Hotel and is topped with the words "We are fighting for an Argentina in which the dogs of the rich don't eat better than the children of the poor".

The project has proven controversial, with concerns about the influx of large numbers of impoverished people expressed by some local businessowners.

[edit] Criticism

Castells is widely criticized for his perceived combative manner and activist activities. He has been accused of such violent actions as extortion (asking for money, food, etc and threatening to use violence), breaking of the law (blocking public roads, vandalizing public and private facilities, attacking people who cross picket lines), and has also been involved in self-victimization (hunger strikes).

The criticisms of Castells and his activism can be seen as comparable to the broader criticisms of the piquetero movement as a whole.