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Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia

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DOI: 10.30687/978-88-6969-296-3/002

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Through the Working Class
Ecology and Society Investigated Through the Lens of Labour
edited by Silvio Cristiano

Subaltern Environmentalism
in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia
Sergio Ruiz Cayuela
(KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden)

Abstract In this piece I analyse the ways in which marginalized communities respond to intentional
environmental discrimination by political and economic elites. In order to do so, I briefly reflect on
the terms subalternity and environmentalism; and I characterize subaltern environmentalism in
terms of political orientation, types of communities involved, conception of the environment and
issues of concern, and positionality. In order to test the previously developed blueprint I use the case
study of Can Sant Joan (Catalonia), a working-class migrant neighbourhood where a movement
against waste incineration emerged when the Asland cement plant got a permission to use refuse
derived fuels in 2006.

Summary 1 Introduction. – 2 About Subaltern Environmentalism. – 3 Methodology. – 4 The

Struggle against Waste Incineration in Can Sant Joan. – 4.1 The Community. – 4.2. The Struggle –
4.3 Subalternity as the Main Feature. – 5 Conclusion.

Keywords Subaltern. Environmentalism. Waste. Incineration.

1 Introduction

Structural inequalities that sustain the domination of economic elites often

simultaneously result in environmental discrimination of subaltern com-
munities (Ageyman 2005). The Cerrell Report, written in 1984 by the Los
Angeles consulting firm Cerrell Associates, at the request of the California
Waste Management Board, sought to define the type of communities that
were less likely to resist siting of locally unwanted land use (LULU). The
study, that is purportedly believed to have been circulated throughout
regulatory agencies and industries across the USA, proposed different
political criteria for the selection of Waste-to-Energy sites and indicated
that placing was not based on scientific criteria (Energy Justice Network
s.d.). Consequently, most of the communities affected by nearby LULUs
in the USA have something in common: they are, in some way, subaltern
communities experiencing intentional discrimination (Bullard 2008). These
highly polluted residential/industrial areas are called ‘sacrifice zones’, a
Culture del lavoro 8 ISSN [online] 2610-9379 | ISSN [print] 2610-8852
DOI 10.30687/978-88-6969-296-3/002 | Submitted: 2018-07-20 | Accepted: 2018-08-31
ISBN [ebook] 978-88-6969-296-3 | ISBN [print] 978-88-6969-297-0
© 2018 | cb Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License 35
Through the Working Class, 35-52

term used to designate dangerously radioactive areas resulting from the

nuclear race that took place during the Cold War (Lerner 2010). Sacri-
fice zones, though, are not an exclusive phenomenon of the USA: subal-
tern communities inhabit these hot spots of pollution all around the globe
(Armiero, D’Alisa 2012). When they realize – commonly by chance – the
hazards they are being intentionally exposed to, subaltern communities
usually undergo a similar process of awakening that culminates in subal-
tern environmental movements (Lerner 2010). My goal in this chapter is
to analyze the main features of subaltern environmentalism. To this end,
I begin by briefly reflecting on the terms ‘subalternity’ and ‘environmen-
talism’. I characterize subaltern environmentalism in terms of political
orientation, types of communities involved, positionality, conception of the
environment and issues of concern. I then move on to introduce the Can
Sant Joan community and their struggle against waste incineration in the
Asland cement plant. Finally, I discuss whether the local anti-incineration
movement is a case of subaltern environmentalism according to the previ-
ously developed blueprint.

2 About subaltern environmentalism

Subalternity is a controversial term that has been used and appropri-
ated by many authors over the years. Gramsci – who inflicted the military
concept of subaltern with a new meaning in the early Twentieth century
(Green 2002) – considers that the subaltern are all the non-elite groups,
those oppressed by the relations of hegemony within society. For him, the
only way of leaving subalternity is by reversing the existing relationship
of domination-subordination. Gramsci does not consider the subaltern
groups as equivalent. Instead, he differentiates them by their level of
political organization in their way to achieve complete autonomy, an ideal
state contrasting subalternity in which a group is not subject to domi-
nation (Gramsci 2011). With the rise of subaltern studies in the 1980s,
some authors embraced a relatively close vision to Gramscian subalternity
(see Guha 1982), whereas others diverged. Gayatri Spivak is the most
relevant author of the latter current. For her, the subaltern encompass
only those so displaced that they lack any kind of political organization
and representation. Thus, she argues, once they revert this situation and
achieve visibility they are no more subaltern (Spivak 1988). Pulido’s view
on subalternity is in line with Gramsci. She defines subaltern struggles
as “counterhegemonic, […] exist[ing] in opposition to prevailing powers”
(1996, 4). She also agrees with Gramsci on the impossibility of determining
a single cause of marginalization of subaltern groups. Instead, they both
identify an ensemble of political, social, cultural and economic relations,
interdependent among them, as the multiple cause. Both authors also
36 Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia
 Through the Working Class, 35-52

concur in arguing that domination-subordination relationships are per-

petuated through structural inequalities – based on class, race or culture
among other factors. Such structural inequalities are in turn legitimized
by the hegemony of the dominant group within civil society.
Environmentalism is a very disparate movement that covers different
forms of activism (Armiero, Sedrez 2014). Historically, it has been thought
to be a concern of the elites, or in the words of Nash (2014) a “full stomach”
phenomenon. He foresaw western environmental activism as a luxury of
the middle and high classes, almost like a hobby for those whose material
needs were covered. Nevertheless, more comprehensive historical reviews
have shown that Nash’s conception of environmentalism was very narrow.
Martínez Alier (2003) provides a more exhaustive classification of envi-
ronmental currents. He separates environmentalism in three groups, fo-
cused on: wilderness and preservation of endangered species; sustainable
management of resources through technological advance; and livelihood
conflicts that oppose structural inequalities, which he calls “environmen-
talism of the poor” (2013). By showing cases of the latter group as far back
as the 1880s, Martínez Alier challenges the classical vision of American
environmentalism represented by Nash, uncovering its US-centric bias.
Arguably, though, Martinez Alier’s classification is not completely compel-
ling; “environmentalism of the poor” denotes economic status as a main
form of domination, leaving out of the spectrum other forms of alternative
environmentalism. In line with Pulido and Gramsci, I argue that as well
as being due to economic status, the causes of subordination of a group
can also be political, social and/or cultural. Thus, I believe that the term
subaltern environmentalism encompasses different forms of alternative
environmentalism and helps us to achieve a more accurate conceptual-
ization. Moreover, talking about subaltern environmentalism seems very
appropriate in the current climate of escalating inequalities. Most of the
environmental burdens placed on vulnerable communities respond to so-
cial and environmental subordination strategies used by political economic
elites in order to perpetuate their ruling position (Egan 2002).
Thereupon, I will describe the main features of subaltern environmen-
talism that in many cases are shared with other forms of alternative envi-
ronmentalism. First, subaltern environmentalism is charged with political
claims of social justice and equity. Its claims are as social as they are envi-
ronmental. Moreover, they have a specific political content that is usually
related with the radical left. In subaltern environmentalism, social and
environmental subordination is seen as a tool of political economic elites,
in order to reinforce and perpetuate their ruling position (Egan 2002).
Communities involved in these struggles perceive unequal power rela-
tions as the main threat to their environments and livelihoods; they, thus,
seek to challenge the hegemony of the dominant group. A second trait of
subaltern environmentalism is the type of communities involved. Subaltern
Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia 37
Through the Working Class, 35-52

environmental struggles usually involve people that are already defined

as a community or social group of some kind. Nevertheless, communities
are influenced by the struggles to such an extent that their original com-
munal identity is often reshaped through the development of a subaltern
consciousness (Pulido 1996). Third, subaltern environmentalism embraces
a broad conception of the environment, that constitutes the places where
subaltern communities live out their everyday lives. For subaltern commu-
nities, the distinction between anthropocentrism and biocentrism, which
has classically informed mainstream environmentalism, does not make
sense. Rather, they perceive the environment as their source of livelihood
and, thus, are willing to protect it (Guha 1989). In subaltern environmen-
talism, the boundaries of the environment are expanded, it becomes every-
thing that surrounds communities (Armiero, D’Alisa 2012; Novotny 2000),
including urban spaces. Finally, positionality is arguably the most defin-
ing feature of subaltern environmentalism. For the involved communities,
environmental struggles are mainly materialist. Their livelihoods depend,
to a greater or lesser extent, on the outcome of the struggles. As Pulido
puts it, their “position in the socioeconomic structure, in turn, frame their
struggles differently” (1996, 25). Communities involved in these struggles
are subordinate to the hegemonic class, that has classically prioritized
economic productivity over their well-being. More recently, increasingly
rapid environmental degradation has stimulated the hegemonic class to
adopt green economy strategies, which still seek to reinforce its dominant
position (Goodman, Salleh 2013). Thus, subaltern communities embrace
a counter-hegemonic position and live their environmental struggles in
first person.

Table 1. Principal features of subaltern environmentalism

Principal features of subaltern environmentalism

Political orientation Seeks social justice and equity, challenges the dominant group, often
aligned with radical left-wing politics.
Communities involved Direct personal connection to the issues of concern. Existing communal
identity that is reshaped in the struggle.
Conception The environment is everything that surrounds communities, including
of environment urban environment. Material conflicts directly related to sources of
and issues of concern livelihood for vulnerable communities.
Positionality Counter-hegemonic conflicts embraced by communities subordinate
to political economic elites. Struggles lived in first person: their lives,
their land.

38 Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia

 Through the Working Class, 35-52

3 Methodology
Fieldwork for this research was conducted during February 2017, but be-
fore arriving to the field I exchanged extensive correspondence with two
key informants: J.L.C., president of the neighbourhood association of Can
Sant Joan and member of the local platform against incineration (PAMiR);
and N.V.L., member of Ecologistes en Acció and former worker of the lo-
cal Montcada i Reixac (MiR) municipality in the environment area for 20
years. The main data source for this research consisted in a sample of 21
semistandardized interviews. For the selection of the interviewees I used
both snowball (Berg, Lune 2012) and judgmental (Hagan 2006) sampling,
building upon the information obtained from the key informants. Through
this broad sampling approach, I tried to accurately represent all the par-
ties in the ongoing local struggle against refuse-derived fuels (RDF) use,
including members of the PAMiR, the neighbourhood association, the lo-
cal women’s and youth groups, local politicians and municipal employees,
managers of the cement plant, scientists, practitioners, and members of
regional and global environmental groups. The interviews conducted have
only been used as data under the informed consent of the interviewees.
There was only one interview where I could not obtain a signed informed
consent form: the interview with the cement plant managers. Thus, none
of the information that they provided during the interview have been di-
rectly used in this research study. Nevertheless, I considered licit to use
information from my visit to the cement plant in form of direct observa-
tions as long as it did not make reference to the words of the interviewees.
I have decided to corroborate and augment the evidence obtained
through interviews with several other data sources, in what is commonly
known as a triangulation process (Yin 2003). These include: a) documen-
tation: air quality reports produced by the community, scientific stud-
ies conducted by environmental organizations, peer reviewed scientific
papers, and legal documents; b) archival records: municipal contracts,
historical correspondence involving the municipality, the complete collec-
tion of the Can Sant Joan monthly magazine Hoja Informativa (1966-2017),
organisational budgets, and economic and demographic data; c) direct
observations: I kept record of my observations in the field by taking notes
and pictures (without compromising privacy rights); d) physical artifacts:
graffiti and other artistic forms, and a collection of dust samples kept in
jars collected at balconies and homes by community members to make vis-
ible their exposure to pollution. I have only used documents and archival
records whenever they were public or I could obtain permission from the
copyright holders.

Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia 39

Through the Working Class, 35-52

4 The Struggle against Waste Incineration in Can Sant Joan

4.1 The Community

The neighbourhood of Can Sant Joan is part of the municipality of Montcada

i Reixac (MiR), in the outskirts of Barcelona. It was born as a place where
the unskilled workers from the railway line and the Asland cement plant
could settle down at the beginning of the Twentieth century. The mass
migration from rural to industrial areas that took place in Spain during
the 1950s and 1960s dramatically transformed the neighbourhood. During
this period, it underwent a process of spontaneous urban development (Ep-
stein 1973). It was in this context that the Can Sant Joan neighbourhood
association was created. Its goal was to improve the living conditions in
the neighbourhood and foster conviviality among the community. “Since
I arrived to Can Sant Joan 44 years ago the neighbourhood has changed
a lot, we have achieved some major improvements” (interview 1). During
the first years of the Twenty-first century Can Sant Joan saw the arrival
of a new wave of migrants from disparate cultural backgrounds that, thus
far, have not been integrated with the old-time residents. Can Sant Joan is
nowadays a working-class, poor, migrant neighbourhood. The positionality
of the neighbourhood, compared to the city and the province of Barcelona,
can be summarized in the following terms: very poor economic and educa-
tional levels, very low price of real estate properties, appropriate number
of cultural spaces and poor level of urban services. Notably, though, it is
important to keep in mind that the latter two were achieved through popu-
lar mobilization. Moreover, public and private institutions very rarely led
the way in improving life in the neighbourhood. If we add to the analysis
the deeply entrenched working-class consciousness among the community
members (interviews 1, 2, 4-11, 13-17, 19, 20), there is no doubt that Can
Sant Joan can be considered a subaltern community. Its existence is op-
posed to two prevailing powers of different scale: the center of MiR and
the city of Barcelona. It is worth noting the influence that scale has in this
analysis. If we set the boundaries at a municipality level the center of MiR
is the dominant community, whereas if we set them at a regional level MiR
becomes subordinate to the city of Barcelona. Thus, the same territory si-
multaneously plays two roles, as ruling and subordinate, depending on the
scale. Nevertheless, although identifying geographical areas with specific
social groups might work in small and unified communities, it requires
further study of the social fabric.
Judging by the opinion of the neighbours and local politicians as well as
economic, educational and real estate indicators, there are many commu-
nities in the surrounding neighbourhoods (both in MiR and in the Nou Bar�-
ris district, Barcelona) that are in a similar situation and could also there�
-
fore be considered subaltern. Can Sant Joan, thus, is not a unique case.
40 Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia
 Through the Working Class, 35-52

Indeed, the area of El Vallès (of which MiR is part) is commonly referred
to as the industrial park of Barcelona, because of the high concentration of
industrial areas and working-class communities (interviews 1, 2, 4, 14, 15,
19, 20). Yet, there are some characteristics that make Can Sant Joan stand
out as a special case. The most important one is the sense of attachment
to a community that reigns in the neighbourhood. At the core of this com-
munity is the neighbourhood association. This communal identity has been
shaped by decades of struggles for improving life in the neighbourhood
in different ways: “this has always been a community were people have
organized in order to fight, there is a special atmosphere in the neighbour-
hood that makes us feel from Can Sant Joan” (interview 1). Some 4,200
people in Can Sant Joan – out of the total 5,500 inhabitants – are affiliated
to the neighbourhood association, which was the first one created in Cata-
lonia. In 2015 and 2017 the association gained national recognition when
received the prize to the most socially relevant neighbourhood association
by the Confederation of Neighbourhood Associations of Catalonia (CON-
FAVC, Catalan abbreviation) (interview 1). Some of the individuals holding
positions of responsibility in the association have a political past linked
to trade unions and communist or anarchist groups. A few of them were
even involved in armed antifascist groups during Franco’s dictatorship.
Their background has permeated the neighbourhood association, which
has become a very active political tool of the working-class neighbourhood
in their quest for social and environmental justice. In fact, the association
has had many open conflicts with the MiR municipality whenever their
claims have been obviated and their protests violently suffocated (inter-
views 1, 2, 4-11, 13-17, 19, 20). “In one of the first protests against the
Asland we blocked the main highway. Suddenly, we saw the riot police in
full gear coming after us!” (interview 2). Yet, the neighbourhood associa-
tion is not only a political tool, but an open ground for integration in the
community. The local parish, that has since the 1960s been directed by an
openly communist priest, has also played a very relevant role in fostering
conviviality in the neighbourhood. In fact, the neighbourhood association
and the parish have worked side by side to pioneer many self-organized
activities that have contributed to build bonds and avoid conflicts among
the neighbours while improving the quality of life in the neighbourhood
(interview 14). Can Sant Joan is, thus, more politically organized than the
rest of surrounding subaltern communities. As such, it arguably stands
at a higher level in the Gramscian ladder towards autonomy and towards
overcoming subalternity. As N.V.L. (interview 13), member of Ecologistes
en Acció and former worker of the MiR municipality in the environment
area during 20 years, puts it: “I believe that [the neighbours of Can Sant
Joan] were destined to be subalterns, but they have rejected their fate.
They fought back and freed themselves from marginality”.

Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia 41

Through the Working Class, 35-52

4.2 The Struggle

The community of Can Sant Joan has a long story of engagement in differ-
ent struggles for improving livelihood conditions in the neighbourhood.
Reportedly, one of the most significant is the dispute against pollution
from the Asland cement plant. This particular conflict has gone through
different stages since the 1960s. What, some decades ago, was a moder-
ate discontentment during episodes of heavy pollution has been gradually
replaced by a general opposition to the very existence of the cement plant.
Implementation of automated processes in the Asland, that reduced its
labor force from several hundred to barely 50 workers nowadays – none
of whom are from the neighbourhood – has had a crucial role in altering
public opinion. “The cement plant used to employ many people from the
neighbourhood, but today the story is very different. This has tipped the
scale toward major opposition” (interview 15). The struggle reached a
peak of intensity in 2006, when the cement plant received permission to
use refuse-derived fuels, or in other words, to incinerate waste. At that
moment, a movement arose in Can Sant Joan and a platform against incin-
eration (named PAMiR for its Catalan abbreviation) was created in 2007,
at the heart of which is the neighbourhood association. As is often the
case, the movement went through a high intensity phase during its first
18 months, before then being consolidated in a low intensity phase that
still lasts. The struggle has enhanced the subaltern consciousness of the
community that, by bridging alliances with other communities involved
in similar conflicts, has embraced a complex neighbourhood-detached
subaltern identity. In other words, Can Sant Joan neighbours feel now
part of a wider group of subaltern communities that are aware of being
structurally discriminated by political economic elites. Incrementally, the
conflict has become a quest for autonomy and social justice as much as a
matter of environmental health. It is because of this that I argue that the
movement against incineration in Can Sant Joan is a perfect example of
subaltern environmentalism. Since the struggle lowered its intensity and
was stabilized in 2008, the PAMiR and the community of Can Sant Joan
have been all but still. The resistance has concentrated efforts in timely but
significant actions, that can be organized in four interdependent groups:
protest actions, legal actions, street science, and coalition building.
Very diverse and imaginative protest actions have been carried out by
the PAMiR in the last decade. They have included demonstrations with up
to 2,000 people, sabotaging of public events in which local authorities took
part, themed Carnivals, shooting of the movie Arcángeles in which pollu-
tion from the Asland cement plant originates a zombie epidemic, organiz-
ing the Estem Cremats (We Are Burned) music festival, and gaining public
support by celebrities in media appearances. Some of these protest actions
have created great controversy due to direct confrontation with workers
42 Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia
 Through the Working Class, 35-52

from the Asland and other cement plants. As a Can Sant Joan neighbour
puts it “several times LafargeHolcim [current owner of the cement plant]
has fleeted buses from Sagunt and other Spanish towns in order to bring
workers and threaten the neighbours that were demonstrating” (interview
20). When it comes to legal actions, the PAMiR has started two lawsuits
against the Asland: one on irregularities in the environmental impact as-
sessment related to RDF use in the cement plant that led to a moratorium
in 2008; and another – still ongoing – on exceeding permissible noise levels
in the neighbourhood. Several crowdfunding campaigns have been organ-
ized to defray the legal costs. Community members have made use of street
science (Corburn 2005) to oppose Asland’s narrative about traffic being
the almost exclusive source of pollution in the neighbourhood. PAMiR ac-
tivists have taken part in the co-production of knowledge with scientists
and practitioners. Moreover, dissemination talks chaired by renowned
researchers have been organized in and beyond the neighbourhood, in
order to raise awareness and increase the critical mass of the movement.
Local activists have also engaged in joint activities with universities at
undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The PAMiR has also put a lot of
effort in building coalitions. In fact, the platform is founding member of
the Catalan and Spanish networks against waste incineration in cement
plants, which hold regular meetings. As reflected in the fact that the 2nd
international meeting against waste incineration, organized by the Global
Alliance for Incineration Alternatives (commonly known as GAIA), was held
in the neighbourhood in 2015, Can Sant Joan has also been able to find
allies at an international level.
Even if the local resistance to waste incineration in Can Sant Joan seems
to revolve around the PAMiR, the real operational core is still the neigh-
bourhood association. In fact, the PAMiR is not legally constituted as an
association. Rather, for instance, the legal actions are carried out in the
name of the neighbourhood association (interview 1). Whilst there is a
divergence of opinions about how many people participate in the move-
ment against waste incineration in Can Sant Joan, there is a consensus
that its structure is organized in rings of engagement. At the core of the
movement there are small groups with higher level of engagement, that
are at the same time included in wider groups with a lower engagement in
the struggle. Interviewees agreed about the main figures of the movement
being, namely at the time of writing, J.L.C. (president of the neighbourhood
association) and M.G. (member of the management board). They belong
to a group averaging 8 people, most of whom are from the management
board of the neighbourhood association, that are very active in the move-
ment against the Asland and that carry out most of the tasks. The next ring
is comprised by a group of 20-25 people who are involved in the decision
making of the PAMiR and who attend most of the meetings and events.
They do so even when this involves travelling out the neighbourhood for
Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia 43
Through the Working Class, 35-52

meeting other communities or external organizations. “We have recently

been in Sevilla, in November […] and we have recently been in Italy fight-
ing the Asland as well. We also held a huge meeting here in Can Sant
Joan, and people from all around the world came” (interview 5). When a
general assembly of the PAMiR is called, or local events organized, the
group expands up to 80 to 100 people. When demonstrations or other big
events are held, the social mass can reach from 200-300 up to 2,000 peo-
ple. Among those actively involved in the movement, there is a majority of
white Spanish aged males who have lived in the neighbourhood for dec-
ades. The PAMiR has identified this trend and is currently trying to reverse
it. In 2016, for example, the neighbourhood association started a women’s
group and in 2017 a youth group. Although the main goals of these groups
are not directly related with the struggle against incineration, their mem-
bers are showing a high level of engagement with the PAMiR and thus,
helping to diversify the movement. Despite the existence of a hierarchy in
the movement, determined mainly by the level of commitment, important
decisions are taken through direct democracy. There are usually two or
three general assemblies called every year, in which the members – the
groups, associations and individuals that belong to the PAMiR – discuss
the direction that the movement is heading. In every assembly, there is a
vote among the participants over decisions that need to be taken, such as
the investment of collected funds in attorneys or selection of which protest
actions to carry out (interviews 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 11, 14-17, 19, 20).

4.3 Subalternity as the Main Feature

When trying to characterize the environmentalism that people from Can

Sant Joan have embraced in their struggle against waste incineration in
the Asland, the feature that stands out is positionality. The Asland company
was funded by the Güell family (prominent among the Catalan bourgeoisie)
in 1901, with the Can Sant Joan cement plant built in 1917. From the very
beginning, the neighbourhood of Can Sant Joan was a place where the
unskilled working class dwelt. In 1989, the French multinational Lafarge
became the major shareholder of the Asland company (Lafarge Asland
2001), and in 2014 it changed to LafargeHolcim after merging with the
Swiss company (Raymond 2014). Nevertheless, people from Can Sant Joan
are not concerned about the ownership of the cement plant and they still
call it the Asland. For them, whatever the nationality of the managers, the
factory represents the oppression by a ruling group of a poor working-class
community with the acquiescence of the authorities. This fact alone could
be significant enough as to consider it a case of subaltern environmental-
ism. Nevertheless, by comparing the case study with the blueprint devel-
oped in section 2 (see table 1), more evidence will be given as to support
44 Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia
 Through the Working Class, 35-52

this characterization.
People in Can Sant Joan have a broad conception of what constitutes the
environment. For them, the environment is not only nature, but the urban
spaces where they live and even their own bodies. They have learned to
identify a strong relationship between the environment and their health,
and thus they are concerned about waste incineration in the Asland. They
relate the high rate of respiratory diseases and cancer in the neighbour-
hood (interview 18) with the cement plant activities. The movement against
waste incineration in the Asland is about livelihood in the neighbourhood;
it is a material conflict mainly played out in the environmental health field.
As such, the community has a direct personal connection with the issues
of concern: what is in dispute is their own bodies and lives. Even if the
community had a previous identity before the start of the struggle, char-
acterized mainly by being working-class migrants (interviews 1, 2, 4-11,
13-17, 19, 20), it has been reshaped through the conflict. The feeling of
being despised and sacrificed because of its subordinated social and po-
litical position is now the main feature of the social group: a feature that
has been expanded beyond the borders of the neighbourhood. In fact, the
perseverance of the PAMiR to bridge alliances at regional, national and
international level has led to the creation of a new social group formed
by communities with similar problems, whose shared identity is based
on material concerns, as well as subaltern consciousness. Nevertheless,
it is worth mentioning that the core of the movement in Can Sant Joan is
formed by a group of people of similar characteristic: aged Spanish males.
Whereas women and young people are currently trying to be integrated
into the movement, groups of newly arrived migrants – mainly foreign-
ers – are still not getting involved. Most of these recently arrived people
are not involved because they do not perceive it as a livelihood struggle.
Overcoming the social division and raising awareness among new groups
of migrants is the biggest challenge of the PAMiR when it comes to in-
creasing their social mass in Can Sant Joan. Another feature of the move-
ment against waste incineration in the neighbourhood that is related to
subaltern environmentalism is its political load. Among the core group of
8-10 people mostly involved in the PAMiR, most of them are openly com-
munist or anarchist, and have been actively involved in political activism
in the past (interviews 1, 2, 8, 14, 16, 17). This small group of people
consider their environmental activism embedded in their political ideol-
ogy. Ultimately, they seek to empower a subaltern community against the
ruling group. Even if the PAMiR is not officially positioned in the political
spectrum, what has permeated from the core group is an articulation of
the struggle around social justice and equity. Thus, although most of the
people involved in the movement are not aware of political theory, they
perceive corporations and governments as the ultimate perpetrators of the
environmental burdens that they are experiencing. Although the platform
Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia 45
Through the Working Class, 35-52

does not support any particular party, most of the people involved in the
PAMiR identify themselves with the new left movement and are openly
positioned against neoliberal capitalism. “We know well that we are intrud-
ing into the heart of capitalism, but we are not afraid” asserts M.G., local
activist and member of the neighbourhood association. Again, the political
orientation of the PAMiR is strongly influenced by the positionality of the
community of Can Sant Joan, that has emerged as the main feature of the
movement. Although many of the aforementioned features could fit in dif-
ferent forms of alternative environmentalism, the subaltern consciousness
of the people in Can Sant Joan (which has developed into a neighbourhood
detached subaltern identity shared with other communities) shapes the
struggle more than anything else. In fact, in Can Sant Joan the struggle
is not only lived as an environmental health conflict, but as a quest for
autonomy and outwards subalternity.

5 Conclusion
After the Asland cement plant secured permission in 2006 for using re-
fuse-derived fuel, a movement against waste incineration emerged in Can
Sant Joan as the last stage of a lifelong rivalry between the factory and
the community. Organized around the heavily politicized neighbourhood
association, the neighbours have been fighting for environmental health
as much as for social justice. The environmental struggle is a vehicle to
free themselves from what they perceive as structural discrimination. A
strong tradition of struggles for improving livelihood conditions in the
neighbourhood has infused a subaltern consciousness in the community.
Nevertheless, by building coalitions with other communities at different
geographical levels the Can Sant Joan identity is simultaneously being re-
shaped, becoming a subaltern geographically-detached complex identity,
in common with other communities. The networks of resistance to waste
incineration are protecting the environment as a way of protecting their
own neighbourhoods, homes and bodies; and thus, they reject the idea of
the natural in opposition to the urban. In the end, they live the environ-
mental struggles as a way of reversing the relationships of domination –
subordination through which they are being discriminated and, ultimately,
move up in the Gramscian ladder outwards subalternity. All these charac-
teristics match the blueprint developed in section 2. Accordingly, the case
of Can Sant Joan presents a prime example of subaltern environmentalism.
To conclude, subaltern environmentalism is a very comprehensive type
of alternative environmentalism. It is not focused on specific causes of
marginalization of communities, but rather on resisting dynamics of inten-
tional environmental discrimination of subaltern communities by political
and economic elites. The movement is defined by four main features. First,
46 Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia
 Through the Working Class, 35-52

subaltern environmentalists fight for social, as much as for environmental

justice and thus, it is a movement politically loaded and specifically close
to leftist stances. Second, as obvious as it may seem, subaltern environ-
mentalism is embraced by subaltern communities that are previously de-
fined as a group, and whose identity is reshaped through the struggles.
Third, in subaltern environmental struggles the city/nature dualism is left
behind. Thus, the environment becomes the place where everyday life
happens, including urban spaces and even human and more-than-human
bodies. Last but not least, the movement is strongly shaped by the subal-
tern positionality of the involved communities. Accordingly, it results in
materialist struggles, lived in first person, in which challenging domina-
tion - subordination relationships is the means for improving livelihood in
the community.

Acknowledgments
I am immensely grateful to professor Marco Armiero for his close men-
torship and guidance in the research that led to this chapter. I am also
grateful to the KTH Environmental Humanities Laboratory for the insti-
tutional support received during my research. Last but not least, I thank
Alex Franklin for her English proofreading and further suggestions that
helped me to improve this chapter.

Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia 47

Through the Working Class, 35-52

Appendix

List of the interviews referred to in the text, that I personally conducted

during my fieldwork.

ID Name Description Date Place

1 J.L.C. Can Sant Joan neighbor, president of the neighbourhood 6/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
association
2 M.G. Can Sant Joan neighbor, board member of the 6/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
neighbourhood association
3 J.M. Retired surgeon, activist at CAPS 6/02/2017 Online questionnaire
4 R.M.M. Can Sant Joan neighbor, member of the women group 7/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
5 N.F. Can Sant Joan neighbor, member of the women group 7/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
6 C.K. Can Sant Joan neighbor, member of the youth group 7/02/2017 Montcata Vins
7 A.D. Can Sant Joan neighbor, member of the youth group 7/02/2017 Montcata Vins
8 A.P. Can Sant Joan neighbor, board member of the 8/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
neighbourhood association
9 S.O. Can Sant Joan neighbor, member of the women group 8/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
10 C.M. Public health inspector for the MiR municipality 8/02/2017 City Hall of MiR
11 A.R. Can Sant Joan neighbor, member of the women group 8/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
12 S.C. Representative of APQUIRA 9/02/2017 La Garriga, private house
13 N.V.L. Member of EeA and former worker of the MiR municipality 10/02/2017 Barcelona, private house
in the environment area
14 S.H. Can Sant Joan neighbor, former rector of the Can Sant 13/02/2017 Can Sant Joan, private
Joan parish house
15 G.G. CUP representative at the MiR municipalaity 13/02/2017 City Hall of MiR
16 A.L. MiR neighbor 14/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
17 L.L. Can Sant Joan neighbor, board member of the 14/02/2017 AVV Can Sant Joan
neighbourhood association
18 C.V. Endocrinologist specialized in environmental health, 15/02/2017 Barcelona, private office
former member of the Catalan parliament, member of
CAPS
19 I.H. Can Sant Joan neighbor, member of the parent’s 15/02/2017 Escola El Viver
association of the Escola El Viver, member of ICV at the
MiR municipality
20 A.A. Can Sant Joan neighbor, initiator of the campaign “Judici 10/03/2017 Skype
a la Cimentera”

48 Ruiz Cayuela. Subaltern Environmentalism in Can Sant Joan, Catalonia

 Through the Working Class, 35-52

Acronyms

AVV Associació de Veïns (neighbourhood association)

MiR Montcada i Reixac (name of the municipality to which Can
Sant Joan belongs)
CAPS Centre d’Anàlisi i Programes Sanitaris (Center for Health-
care Analysis and Programmes)
EeA Ecologistes en Acció (Environmentalists in Action)
APQUIRA Associació de Persones Afectades per Productes Químics i
Radiacions Ambientals (Association of People Affected by
Chemical Products and Environmental Radiation)
CUP Candidatura d’Unitat (Popular Popular Unity Candidacy)
ICV Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (Green Catalonia Initiative)

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