Tens of thousands of people from all over Spain
rallied in the capital on Saturday against punishing austerity measures
enacted by the government, which is trying to save the country from
financial collapse.
Large protests against austerity measures also took place in neighboring Portugal.
Demonstrators in Lisbon threw tomatoes and fireworks at the Portuguese
headquarters of the International Monetary Fund. Two protesters were
arrested, but otherwise the rally was peaceful.
Spain is stuck in a double-dip recession with unemployment close to 25
percent. The conservative government of the Spanish prime minister,
Mariano Rajoy, has introduced sharp cuts and raised taxes in a move to
reduce the deficit and to reassure investors and officials from the
17-nation euro zone.
The marchers in Madrid unfurled banners with slogans like “Let’s go!
They are ruining the country and we have to stop them.”
“This government’s policies are causing too much pain,” said a union
leader, Ignacio Fernández Toxo. “It’s a lie that there isn’t another way
to restore the economy.”
The situation looks to get worse. At a meeting of euro zone finance
ministers in Cyprus, Spain announced that it would present a new set of
economic reforms by the end of the month. The move raised expectations
that Spain might soon ask for financial help.
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