We are used to hearing about demonstrations and demands in Madrid, the Basque Country or Catalonia, but the riots in Burgos have managed to disconcert us. What has happened? Why are they taking to the streets? Perhaps a few years ago citizens would not have dared to go out and make the demands they have. Perhaps a few years ago no politician would have taken these demonstrations seriously. But after what we have experienced in Spain as a result of the 15M movement, things are no longer so clear. One of the greatest achievements of this movement was to awaken civil society from its political lethargy.

The origins of social mobilization can be traced back to the French Revolution or the workers' movements. These movements were characterized by large masses of people demanding rights and achieving political and social transformation. After them we find specific revolts around wars or movements such as May '68, which, despite not achieving political change, transformed the mentality of citizens. With the exception of Solidarność and the fall of the Berlin Wall, there have been few movements that have been involved and managed to bring about a political turnaround.

The fall of the communist bloc and the economic boom strengthened Western politics to the point where the citizen had nothing to worry about. We could say that in times of crisis everything changes, but this is not entirely true, since the new wave of social uprising has not been born as such in the West. The current social movements have their origins in one of the least democratic regions: Syria. In the documentary How Facebook changed the Arab world you can see the beginning of the Arab Spring (2010) and the domino effect it had until it became a global phenomenon. What do the demands made in Syria and in Burgos have in common? On the surface nothing, but both claims highlight the legitimacy crisis of politicians.

In many cases it is thought that it has been the management economic crisis that has delegitimized politicians, but we must also take into account the corruption scandals in political institutions. The feeling of manipulation and deceit broke the democratic pact based on representation. As the latest survey European Social Survey (ESS) showed a few days ago, citizens no longer trust political institutions.

However, it is interesting to consider that what could have provoked a complete political withdrawal of the society has had the opposite effect. Citizens are becoming more and more interested in politics, so that their interest in it has increased by almost 10% in the last year according to the aforementioned survey . In addition, the attendance to demonstrations and participation in organizations, associations or even the membership to political parties is also increasing.

This growth in interest and participation implies a real strengthening of democracies. In the last century, transformations have accelerated and become global, which entails a complexity that neither the State nor society has yet been able to assume. Moreover, we continue to interpret complex realities with overly simple notions: left-right; republican-liberal; state-citizen. For this reason, perhaps the biggest issue right now is how we manage citizen participation in politics, challenge .

The development of the media has fostered the ideal of the participation of all the people in decision making either through voting or referendums. However, the availability of technology does not mean that mediation is no longer necessary in politics. Many experts warn of the manipulation to which direct participation could be subjected.

Politicians have realized the need to communicate their actions, so they are working to be more transparent. However, they have not yet taken the step of listening to citizens. In some cases it may not have happened due to a lack of will, but in many other cases they simply do not know how to manage it.

We can never govern to everyone's liking because not everyone has the same opinions or interests. That is why we need intermediate bodies to rationalize these diversities and dialogue with political institutions. It is true that it is difficult to carry this out when we are talking at a national level, but perhaps it is more affordable in small towns or neighborhood communities. The Gamonal neighborhood represents not only a change of mentality but also a sample of the power that citizen participation can have. In any case, in order to advance in democracy we must realize the need we have for each other, politicians and citizens.