Spain: New protests against the measures of the Government

Spain, July 19, 2012

After the announcement of the plan of adjustment, some protest began to appear. In the Puerta del Sol, police fired rubber bullets at the demonstrators. 

As in all Spain, a conglomeration of demonstrators took the streets of Madrid to protest against austerity measures. Some of them are the increase in VAT and the abolition of the Christmas bonus for public servants.

The government’s intention, which was to save 27,300 million, did not reach its goal and must now comply with new international requirements in exchange for a longer period to reduce its deficit.

Meanwhile, Mariano Rajoy said that “there is no money in public coffers to pay for public services.”

The demonstrations were organized from the two main Spanish trade unions CCOO and the UGT.

The unions want the government to call a referendum on the austerity measures and do not rule out the possibility of a general strike in the fall, like the one held last March 29.