Deutsche Welle, May 21, 2011
A protesters village has sprung up in the center of Madrid |
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 to demand changes |
In 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
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