"Robin Hood" mayor and supporters reoccupy military land
Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo says estate should be available for a cooperative to create jobs
Around 300 people, led by the United Left regional deputy Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, descended on land belonging to the military in Seville on Wednesday, with a view to occupying it indefinitely.
The action, designed to coincide with the May Day holiday, was a repeat of a similar camp-out organized by the Andalusian Workers Union (SAT) last summer, when they stayed on the Las Turquillas estate in Osuna for 18 days.
Sánchez Gordillo, who, as well as being the head of the SAT, is well known for his "Robin Hood-style" raids on supermarkets to grab food for needy families, is demanding that the land be made available for a cooperative, arguing that it could provide work for more than 100 families.
This week Sánchez Gordillo refused to appear in an Andalusian court on charges of having occupied the same lands in 2012.