Watch this space- protests taking place in Spain now..

[temujin]

Tens of thousands defy Spain's pre-election protest ban


A pre-election protest ban in Spain has proved unsuccessful as tens of thousands attend nationwide rallies. Defiant protesters have taken to the streets on the eve of local elections to demand social and economic reform.

Furious Spanish youths were undeterred by a government imposed protest ban on Saturday, vowing that they were "here to stay."



With local elections due to take place on Sunday, tens of thousands of people gathered in city centers across the county for the seventh day of nationwide protests against soaring unemployment.



Hundreds of protesters, known as "los indignados," (the indignant) camped out in a ramshackle protest village in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol Square.



Protests also continued in other Spanish cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Bilbao.



"We intend to continue, because this is not about Sunday's elections it's about social cutbacks," said Carmen Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the organizers at the protest village in Madrid.



Demonstrators gathered in front of Granada city council Demonstrators gathered in front of Granada city council to demand changesIn the build up to the local election, Spain's electoral commission announced the 48-hour ban on Thursday, asserting that protests planned for Saturday and Sunday were illegal. The commission proclaimed that they "go beyond the constitutionally guaranteed right to demonstrate."



Day of reflection?



Saturday was declared "a day of reflection," meaning political activity was forbidden. Yet fearing violent clashes, the socialist government has not strictly enforced the ban and the protests have remained peaceful.



Following the announcement of the ban, the number of protesters across Spain soared. Spain's leading daily newspaper, El Pais, estimated that around 60,000 people took part in demonstrations on Friday night.



As ban came into force at midnight, some 25,000 protesters in Madrid's Puerta del Sol Square began to whistle and cheer, shouting "now we are all illegal."



But in spite of the apparent festivities, the predominately young crowd clearly expressed their frustrations.



Spanish PM sympathetic



Spain's ruling Socialist Party is facing defeat on Sunday, with devastating losses expected. Polls suggest that voters will punish the party for their handling of the economic crisis.



Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero voiced sympathy for the protesters on Friday, however, saying they were reacting to unemployment and the economic crisis "in a peaceful manner."



The economic crisis pushed Spain's unemployment rate to 21.19 percent in the first quarter of this year, the highest figure in the industrialized world. In February unemployment for under-25s, stood at 44.6 percent.



Spain is currently experiencing the biggest protest movement since the country was first plunged into a recession in 2008.



Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (AFP, Reuters)

Editor: Andreas Illmer

Tens of thousands defy Spain's pre-election protest ban | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 21.05.2011


This news has been largely ignored by Western media outlets (conspiracy theories anyone?) but has the potential to snowball into a mass protest movement across the embattled economies of Southern Europe. Check out the visuals from Madrid- Peurto Del Sol Square looks exactly like Tahrir square at the height of protests there.

If the Spanish Government is forced to renege on already announced cuts on the back of popular sentiment, it would have disastrous consequences of the Euro and we could see Greece/Portugal and even Spain at a later stage, leave the common currency.

Even the normally stoic Brits are complaining of rampant inflation (anecdotal from conversation with lady at till in Tescos this morning) and youth unemployment can't be far off the Spanish figure of 45% in much of Europe.

Keep an eye on this guys as I see the Arab spring turning into a European summer..

 

[temujin]

Spain: Madrid 'Euro-pact' protesters take to streets

Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Madrid and other Spanish cities in a mass march against austerity measures, social spending cuts and unemployment.

Youth activists dubbed "the indignant" recently started a three-week sit-in in Madrid to pressure the government.

The rallying slogan of protesters is A Europe for its Citizens.

They fear that the Euro-pact, which is intended to improve eurozone competitiveness, will mean more cuts.
No leadership

On Sunday, the protesters streamed in from all sides of the capital, chanting, banging drums and waving placards. Some walked for as long as five hours - and by early afternoon a vast crowd had converged close to parliament.

“ We are all against bankers, money and capital - and against corruption and the misuse of public money. That's why we're angry”

Protester in Madrid

The slogans and chants are the same: against mass unemployment and social spending cuts, and in opposition to European-wide austerity measures.

"It's important to take to the streets because a series of measures are being taken by those in power - like the Euro-pact, for example - making Europe belong to the bankers and not the people," one woman protester said.

"We are all against bankers, money and capital - and against corruption and the misuse of public money. That's why we're angry," said a male demonstrator.

There is no leadership to this protest movement - it has no structure - but it does appear to have widespread social support. There are now calls to seize the momentum and stage a nationwide general strike.

In Spain, youth unemployment is more than 43%. The economic crisis has left more than a million families without a single wage-earner.

One of the main slogans along the route was "no to violence", after a demonstration in Barcelona last week ended in clashes with police.

Hundreds of extra officers have been deployed in Madrid for this march. The area around parliament itself has been sealed off as a precaution.

There are dozens more rallies taking place all over Spain this evening; and on Monday, groups from as far away as Seville and Valencia will begin a month-long march to the capital.

BBC News - Spain: Madrid 'Euro-pact' protesters take to streets


Local media is reporting crowds of over 150000.With Greece on the boil as well, I expect things to get very interesting in coming weeks..