Spaniards hold anti-monarchy rally

Hundreds of Spaniards have taken to the streets of the capital Madrid to protest against the scandal-stricken monarchy.

Spaniards staged a large protest rally in Madrid on Monday, demanding a democratically elected head of state.

Waving the Republican flags, the demonstrators blocked traffic as they made their way to a central square in the capital known as Puerta Del Sol.

The monarchy is “a corrupt system that leads us to poverty”, Pedro Riquelme, one of the protesters, said.

“It is like a property that they pass from father to son. With a republic everything would be more transparent,” Riquelme added.

The Spanish monarchy has lost popularity over the past years, partly because of a luxury trip king Juan Carlos made to Africa in 2012 during the peak of Spain’s financial crisis.

The Spanish royal family has also been caught up in a corruption scandal involving King’s youngest daughter Cristina.

The 48-year-old princess was the first member of Spain’s royal family that attested in a court as the subject of criminal proceedings since King Carlos came to power in 1975.

Cristina was summoned by Palma de Mallorca judge, Jose Castro, in February as a suspect for questioning over involvement in a charitable organization called Noos Foundation, which is run by her husband Inaki Urdangarin.

Urdangarin was also accused of fraud, tax evasion, fabricating documents and embezzlement of six million euros ($8.2 million) in public funds.

The high-level corruption scandal has severely damaged the royal family’s standing in Spain and has diminished people’s trust in public institutions at a time the country is struggling with a deep recession and tough cuts in public spending.

A poll published by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo on January 5 showed that fewer than half of Spaniards, or 41 percent, support the monarchy in general and nearly two-thirds of them want Carlos to abdicate.