Protesters surround Spanish parliament
Spanish riot police clash with protesters, September 25, 2012. Photo Fernando Sánchez, MásPúblico.com
Yesterday, thousands of protesters expressed their indignation and dissatisfaction with the current government–and the political class as a whole–by peacefully surrounding the Spanish parliament in Madrid. Protests continue unabated today; follow events live on MásPúblico. Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! have the details on the events of yesterday:
Thousands of people surrounded the Spanish Parliament in Madrid on Tuesday to protest austerity measures and the loss of public confidence in elected leaders. The “Occupy Congress” protest came as the conservative administration of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy prepares to unveil further austerity measures on Thursday. After hours of protest, police in riot gear charged against demonstrators with batons and fired rubber bullets. Thirty-five people were arrested, and at least 60 people were injured. We go to Madrid to speak with independent journalist Maria Carrion. Watch/Listen/Read
It is not surprising that the Spanish people are unhappy with the current government. Seeing as I am not particularly well informed on the current politics of Spain i can’t help but wonder if it has to do more with the governing parties policies, or with the current state the global economy is in. The fact of the matter is not many citizens globally are overall happy with their governments at this time. There is still a global recession and thus a lack of jobs. People are often likely to be more restless and open to change when things are going badly, while when everything is stable people are often content to continue with things the way they are.