1000s hold anti-austerity demo in Madrid

Thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets of the capital Madrid to protest against the government’s tough austerity measures.

The protest took place on Sunday in the city where demonstrators chanted anti-austerity slogans.

“I have come to protest against all the cuts this government is making in general, cuts to health, education and labour reforms. It’s leading us to higher unemployment and lower wages and more difficulties for people to cope with on a day to day basis,” said one protester.

Grappling with a deep economic recession, Spain has adopted harsh austerity measures as part of attempts to deal with the dire situation.

Spain has been witnessing daily protests in recent years since the country’s economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking millions of jobs with it.

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain.

The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.