MADRID : Tens of thousands of angry Spaniards protested in 80 cities throughout Spain on Thursday against the government’s latest austerity package, blaming officials for “ruining” the country.
Protesters flooded Madrid’s main Puerta del Sol square and the streets in front of parliament late into the night. Large deployments of riot police manned barricades in front of the legislature, fearing rising tensions could lead to violence.
Large crowds also gathered in Barcelona and Bilbao, while leading Spanish newspaper El Pais estimated on its website that more than 100,000 had attended the rally in the capital.
Marchers in Madrid carried Spanish flags bearing black bows for mourning and banners saying, “No to the cuts” and “You have ruined us.”
The country is in its second recession in three years and its government borrowing rates are unsustainably high as investors worry the government may face new costs in rescuing the banks. If the government’s borrowing rates do not fall back down, it may eventually need a sovereign bailout like those taken by Greece, Ireland and Portugal ( Courtsey: Ganashakti)