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March 22, 2014: The Marches for Dignity M-22, a protest against austerity, turned violent resulting in 88 being injured and 29 arrested in Madrid, according to a report in RT. The demonstrators are demanding an end to the so-called Troika-style cuts in Spain, more jobs and affordable housing.
The protest was scheduled by demonstrators objecting to austerity. Hoisting banners reading “no more cuts!” and similar messages, the protesters called for an end to the government’s “empty promises.” Spain’s current unemployment rate is 26%. Hundreds of people are evicted from their homes every day. The General Council of the Judiciary reported that 49,984 forced evictions had been carried out across the country last year, which averages about 185 a day. The conditions left many Spanish citizens with nowhere to turn. This is reflected in the growing number of suicides in the country, with the country’s National Institute of Statistics estimating that at least 8 people take their lives every day in the country.
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Using tactics including teargas and baton beatings, riot police blocked the protestors from breaking through a barrier. The Spanish authorities have deployed 1,650 riot police to keep the situation under control.
“The mass rally was coming to an an end when reportedly a group of younger protesters, who had masks on their faces, started throwing rocks at the police. Police tried to push them away from the parameter that they organized around this area,” RT’s Egor Piskunov reported from Madrid.
“They (police) tried to push them (protesters) away from these police fences and then we started seeing firecrackers being thrown at police and reportedly authorities started firing rubber bullets at the protesters. As a result, there are injuries on both sides and several people have been arrested as well.”
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Six “columns” of trains, cars and buses, as well as bands of pedestrians have travelled from Extremadura, Andalusia, Valencia, Murcia, Asturias, Galicia and Aragon, among other Spanish regions, to converge on Madrid in mass protest this Saturday,” the report adds.
Occupy World Writes stands in solidarity with those in Madrid and throughout Spain who seek a peaceful resolution to the austerity that is oppressing them. We call on all governments to address the basic human rights and needs of their people in expeditious measures that result in progress and growth.
The Spanish Spring has arrived!
