Spanish pharmacists hold demo in Barcelona

Hundreds of Spanish pharmacists have taken to the streets in Barcelona to express their anger over the regional government’s failure to pay their bills.

The pharmacy workers mostly wearing their white lab coats marched through the streets of the city on Thursday.

According to the Catalan Order of Pharmacists, the regional government owes pharmacies 416 million euros (USD 562 million).

“We demand that this debt be settled because we can’t take it any longer. We are at the breaking point,” said the president of the organization, Jordi Dalmases, during the rally.

“The duties of a pharmacist do not include financing the medication of customers. If this continues, we will have to stop giving out medication,” said a protester.

“They are playing with people’s health. You are constantly struggling morally because you know you have to provide the medicine but at the same time you are putting your business and your home at risk,” another protester said.

Meanwhile, Spain’s debt crisis, which has left many people unemployed, has sharpened Catalonia’s demand for economic independence from the central government as Catalans seek more control over their economy.

Catalonia accounts for nearly one fifth of Spanish output, but is being pressured by austerity cuts and economic troubles in Spain.

The Spanish government has been sharply criticized over austerity policies that are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.

However, the government has remained adamant, saying the austerity measures are needed to carry it through the crisis.

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 massive demonstrations in many European countries.