Thousands march against austerity in UK, Spain

PanARMENIAN.Net - Thousands of Spaniards fed up with economic misery and waving banners against bankers marched on Saturday, May 12 to mark the first anniversary of the grassroots "Indignados" movement that has sparked similar protests around the world, Reuters reported.

Up to 600 people denouncing the Bank of England rallied in London and a Reuters witness said scuffles broke out between some demonstrators and police, with at least 12 arrests.

The Indignados and the offshoot Occupy and Take the Square movements had called for a global day of action against anti-debt austerity policies and the widening gap between rich and poor, but nowhere were protests as large as in Spain.

A year after tens of thousands set up a month-long camp in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square, drawing international attention, indignant Spaniards have even more to be angry about.

Unemployment has soared to over 24 percent, over half the country's youth is out of work, the economy has dipped back into recession and one of its largest banks has been nationalized.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government has passed painful austerity measures that have hit once-sacred public health and education spending in an effort to appease international markets and avoid a Greek-style bailout.

Demonstrators gathered in more than 80 cities across Spain, chanting the slogan that has become a mantra at protests over the past year: "They say it's democracy but it's not."

In central Madrid, streets were blocked as activists convened in various neighborhoods across the capital to march towards Puerta de Sol, which filled up with people waving flags and chanting to the beat of horns and drums.