From the present, it may seem that we have never lived in such a dark era, with such an uncertain future and such accumulated hopelessness. If one looks back, however, insurrection has often taken hold of the streets of Barcelona. Sometimes, the response has been fierce repression—including executions—and without any victory for the insurgents. Other times, citizen mobilization has brought down governments and caused irreversible changes. In fact, many current rights would not exist without great mobilizations.