Sign of the Times: Spanish 'Robin Hood' Activists Loot Supermarkets

Spanish police have arrested seven left-wing union activists for their alleged role in recent "Robin Hood"-style heists designed to highlight the plight of people suffering through the country's recession.

The activists on Tuesday stormed a supermarket and stole nine trolleys full of food that they later gave to the poor and unemployed.

Because, you know, if you take from one to give to another, that solves the problem, right?

The mayor of the nearby town of Marinaleda, Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, took credit for one of the sackings and vows more will take place. Wait, that mayor was in on this? What kind of mayor --

Why are we not surprised?

“There are people who don’t have enough to eat,” said Gordillo who actually oversaw one of the sackings and instructed activists via megaphone. “So we’ve decided to expropriate basic foodstuffs and give them to a soup kitchen, which is having difficulties finding enough food for everyone, because demand has gone up.”

“In Andalusia and in Spain, it’s not the political powers that are in charge, it’s the banks, who have no heart, feelings or country,” he added.

For cash-strapped Spain, this sort of "activism" may become a trend.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is fighting to prevent his country becoming the latest -- and biggest -- victim of the economic crisis crippling the 17 countries that use the euro and ask for a full-blown government bailout.

In an attempt to bring its economy under control and restore the confidence of investors, Rajoy has come up with a package of tax hikes and spending cuts he says is worth €65 billion through the end of 2014. But he is reluctant to tighten the screw further amid very real fears of unrest in the streets.

“Right now, we’re seeing things that surprise, hurt and outrage us,” said former leader of the United Left, Gaspar Llamazares, who applauded the "Robin Hood" attacks as a "symbolic gesture."

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The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mayor photo courtesy Irishtimes.com