Tuesday October 6, Javier Pelaez (a blogger who is interested on science and has a blog that talks about it just as a hobby) asked in his Twitter profile how many persons would write in their blogs about the trim in the Spanish investment and development (I+D) budget. Some blogs began to mobilize themselves; hundreds of users began to support the cause using the social networks, and what began to as a simple tweet finished as a social group of real political pressure.

“Lets make noise, if it doesn’t change it doesn’t matter, but let's make them to hear us,” Javier was cheering the cause. “If we get more than 1,000 posts we will make a petition with all your reasons and beliefs about how this budget will affect to the Spanish Development.” And under this action, “La ciencia española no necesita Tijeras”, ("Spanish science doesn't need scissors") many Spanish bloggers began to gather to fight against this Government measure. On Wednesday October 7 a special Twitter profilewas created, along with a Facebook group. By late that Wednesday, Javi`s movement had 4,905 fans; a day later on Thursday 8 it had grown to more than 6,000 fans. Now it´s over 10,000.

With other users' help , La ciencia española no necesita Tijeras soon had a logo, a big presence in Facebook, Twitter and a participation of more than 1,000 bloggers, fulfilling one of the expectations to develop the text petition.

The bloggers posted about almost everything about science in Spain. From journalists like Pepe Cervera (a well known journalist that writes in national newspapers like El Pais and El Mundo about new tech and science) who said: “If we want a powerful country we most have big and powerful dreams and the science is the most beautiful and the best to discipline for the human been to know the universe” or in fewer words “less science is to be less cool.”
Even blogs that talked about music, design or humour joined the cause. That’s the case of JR MORA that posted a cartoon about the proposed budget cuts or the case of JUNER that connected the move with music posting the theme this means war of the grunge group we are Scientist. The initiative grew through the day and other proposals arose like the PLAYSONDS that suggested a debate between the podcasters to say what they thought about the trim in the Spanish Investigation & Development.

Here are some postings in Twitter of less known users:

The science do not needs scissors: needs peoples #TijerasNO

We can not lose our dream on science to realize a better future#TijerasNO

The trim on I+D+i is for dummies#TijerasNO

And some Facebook comments :

Commentary nº 20 Susana Sanchez-Gil (Spain)) wrote 07 of October of 2009 to the 3:45: Demiurge as you say science helps the increase of the development of a country but to measure that development, patents, scientific models of utility, publications like articles, books, communications of congresses, nº of investigators, read theses, obtained presidential terms, etc… For it are entered, we existed workers that tried to measure the scientific activity at individual level or in an institutional and with these budgets we are only going to measure the empty offices and the investigations left by the lack of cash! Greetings,

Commentary nº 37 Josemi De la Cruz (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) wrote 07 of October of 2009: At moments of crisis the best thing is to invest in I+D+I, because it is the best investment to future. Yes society Spanish wants that in the future it does not return to exist a monopoly in a single economic sector, that takes in years to another greater crisis again, is necessary to invest now so that the future exists a diversity in different economic sectors. That mixed farming is going to us to show it science, better than no other discipline.

Javier Pelaez also has to thank Spanish media like RTVE, Pùblico, ABC, EcoDiario, Lainformacion for reporting on the cause’s evolution , but this media wasn’t the only with its eyes wide open, @desdelamoncloa the Twitter profile of the Government was also posting about the initiative and also was linking to Javi´s blog where it all began.

The impact of TijerasNo was amazing as we see the BlogSearch results:

-Google BlogSearch "La Ciencia en España No Necesita Tijeras" | 1762 Results
-Google BlogSearch "La Ciencia Española No Necesita Tijeras" | 1734 Results
-Google BlogSearch "TijerasNO" | 1968 Results
- Google Web Search: "La Ciencia en España No Necesita Tijeras" | 135.000 Results

TijerasNo will be still active because now everyone can upload their articles on the TjerasNo web page that has 80 of the 100 more important blogs supporting and promoting the cause.

This is the first time in Spain that a social movement has used social networks to make pressure on the government’s decisions about budget policies.

So far, the government’s response to this movement has been halting at best. On a local TV programme, the Minister of Development, Miss Cristina Garmendia, said that the change from a national economic development based on I+D is still far off but she claimed that the number of companies doing I+D in Spain had increased by three in the first trimester of 2009.

On the other hand, the Confederation of Scientific Societies of Spain (that gathers 62 different societies) says that the Administration’s work on I+D is insufficient and is promoting the idea that Spain will be affected seriously in the face of a world that bets on innovation like Germany and the United States. That’s why the Confederation of Scientific Societies of Spain has also asked to the Zapatero`s Administration to amend the National Budget of 2010. If the budget cut is rescinded, it “will be without a doubt a great service to the Nation and its future and will need the recognition of the whole society,” says Joan J. Guinovart, President of the Confederation, “if not it will create doubts about the policy of Spain during Zapatero´s Europe Presidency.”