MADRID — Tens of thousands of Spaniards and Portuguese rallied in the streets of their countries’ capitals Saturday to protest enduring deep economic pain from austerity cuts.
In Madrid, demonstrators approached Parliament for the third time last week to vent anger about tax increases, government spending cuts, and the highest unemployment rate among the 17 nations that use the euro currency.
The boisterous crowds in the Spanish capital let off ear-splitting whistles near Parliament and yelled ‘‘Fire them, fire them!’’ — referring to the conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
On Friday, Rajoy’s administration presented a 2013 draft budget that will cut overall spending by nearly $52 billion, freezing the salaries of public workers, cutting spending for unemployment benefits, and even reducing spending for Spain’s royal family next year by 4 percent.
I'm sorry, but I don't think taxpayers should bear the cost of royalty anymore. It's the 21st century for God's sake.
Pablo Rodriguez, a 24-year-old student pursuing a master’s degree in agricultural development in Denmark, said the austerity measures and bad economy mean most of his friends in Spain are unemployed or doing work they did not train for.
He doubts he will put his education to use in Spain until he is 35 or 40, if ever, and will probably get a job abroad and stay.
‘‘I would love to work here, but there is nothing for me here,’’ Rodriguez said. ‘‘By the time the economy improves it will be too late. I will be settled somewhere else with a family. One of the disasters in Spain is they spent so much to educate me and so many others and they will lose us.’’
In Lisbon, retired banker Antonio Trinidade said the budget cuts Portugal is locked into in return for the nation’s $101 billion bailout are making the economy the worst he has seen in his lifetime.
His pension has been cut, and he said countless young Portuguese are increasingly heading abroad because they cannot make a living at home.
‘‘The government and the troika controlling what we do because of the bailout just want to cut more and more and rob from us,’’ Trinidade said, referring to the troika of creditors — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
‘‘The young don’t have any future, and the country is on the edge of an abyss,’’ Trinidade said. “I’m getting toward the end of my life, but these people in their 20s or 30s don’t have jobs, or a future.’’
In Spain, Rajoy has an absolute majority and has pushed through waves of austerity measures during the last nine months — trying to prevent Spain from being forced into the same kind of bailouts taken by Portugal, Ireland, and Greece.
The protests near Spain’s Parliament turned violent Tuesday and Wednesday nights when protesters clashed with riot police, who barricaded entry to the streets surrounding government buildings. Dozens of people were arrested and injured.
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Related:
"Spain protesters oppose austerity measures" Associated Press, September 16, 2012
MADRID — Tens of thousands of people from throughout Spain rallied in the capital Saturday against austerity measures enacted by the government, which is trying to save the country from financial collapse. The conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has introduced stinging cuts and raised taxes in a bid to reduce the deficit and to reassure investors. Large protests against government cutbacks also took place in Lisbon on Saturday. Demonstrators threw tomatoes and fireworks at the Portuguese headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (AP)."
I will update if I come across anymore Spanish protest pieces in my Globes.
"Tornado hits fair in Spain, flood deaths reach 10" Associated Press, September 30, 2012
BARCELONA — A tornado swept through a fairground in the Spanish town of Gandia, knocking down a Ferris wheel and injuring 35 people, while the death toll from flooding in the same southeastern region of the country rose to 10, authorities said Saturday....
Local media reported that hundreds had to flee their homes throughout the region.
The heavy rains that started on Friday morning are expected to continue throughout Saturday....
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I presume they helped put out the fires?
"Wildfire endangers woods on island
MADRID — Officials say high temperatures have intensified a wildfire on a Spanish island, endangering a valuable wooded area that is a rare survivor of the ancient type of forest that once covered much of Europe. Regional agriculture spokeswoman Nancy Melo said the flames on La Gomera are encroaching on Garajonay National Park, which contains laurel forests ‘‘of incalculable ecological value.’’ (AP)."
