(Image source: The Guardian )

 

BY ZACH TOOMBS

 

Tens of thousands across Spain marched against the nation’s deep austerity cuts Saturday. The BBC reports the protesters filled the streets of downtown Madrid.

 

“The biggest rallies were in Barcelona and Madrid, where huge crowds gathered. The demonstrations mark a year since the first protests by the movement known as Los Indignados, or The Outraged.”

 

In the wake of financial crisis, protests across the euro zone have sprung up over the last few weeks in nations like France, Italy, Greece and Portugal. CNN says marchers in Spain defied police orders in their protests.

 

“They are staying past the 10 p.m. deadline set by the government, which said they could go only ‘til that hour and then they had to clear out. Well, that clearly hasn’t happened.”

 

The Guardian reports many of the protesters across Spain were among those suffering under the nation’s 23 percent unemployment rate. That figure marks an 18-year high for joblessness. Discontent with the nation’s pro-austerity government was also common throughout the protests.  

 

“I am ashamed to see that the rich have so much and the poor have to live in misery.”

“The new government has made things much worse than a year ago.”

 

Despite the protesters’ presence in cities throughout Spain, Al Jazeera reports the government seems to be taking little notice.

 

“But while there is much hunger for change, the reality is that the Indignados have had little impact on mainstream politics. The country voted in a right-wing government last year, which has implemented the harshest set of public sector cuts in decades.”

 

And Spain’s El Pais reports on the aftermath of the protests.

 

“The square in Madrid has reopened after the police cordoned it off. Last night there were 18 arrested, two police officers injured and evictions in cities such as Palma, Cadiz and Valencia.”

 

The Guardian reports protesters plan to continue their efforts across Spain through May 15 — the one-year anniversary of last year’s demonstrations.