Andalusians hold Spain’s austerity future in ballot box

RT, 24 March, 2012, 11:15

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy’s hardline attitude to his country’s crisis has triggered outcry from the public and done little to remedy economic woes. Moreover, Sunday’s elections in Andalusia could give Rajoy free rein to ratchet up austerity measures.

­Spain’s most populous region has traditionally been ruled by socialists since the country’s return to democracy in 1978. However, with unemployment in the region at 30 per cent and a political panorama fraught with scandal and corruption, the balance looks tipped in favor of Rajoy’s Popular Party.

A victory would confirm the party’s political hegemony in Spain and pave the way for new anti-deficit measures geared towards pulling the country out of crisis. It would also give Prime Minister Rajoy power to institute risky economic initiatives.

Rajoy has called for all of Spain’s regions to halve their total budget gap this year in an effort to meet EU commitments for this year.

In spite of the expected victory, Rajoy’s austerity measures have come under increasing criticism recently. The conservative government’s new work reforms proposed on 11 March incited public ire, triggering widespread protests and a call for a general strike on March 29.

The government says the reforms aim to revitalize the flagging economy and boost job creation, but many argue that they will reduce workers’ rights and allow companies to lay off more employees.

­Spain’s disillusioned youth

­Spanish youth have been hit particularly hard by the country’s spiraling crisis, with almost 50 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds unable to find employment.

“It’s quite hard actually – the future you can expect when the unemployment rates are this high and the schools are becoming private businesses,” a Spanish student told RT correspondent Sara Firth.

In February, thousands of young Spaniards marched the streets of Valencia to protest education cuts and reforms, leading to fierce clashes between demonstrators and police forces. Numerous arrests were made, with many activists accusing the Spanish police of heavy-handed tactics and brutality.

“What I would like to see is people massively going out onto the streets and protesting, make things change. People have that power and I would like them to realize,” commented another student.

He also highlighted that the new Spanish government had spent over a million euro on tear gas and smoke grenades upon its ascent to power.

“One million euro of a budget of a country that has already a really bad economy on weapons to use against our own citizens when they come here to complain about what we are doing to them,” he said.

Opposition to Prime Minister Rajoy’s hardline policies looks set to grow in momentum as 400,000 jobs are predicted to disappear in the coming months.

Spanish jobless protests eclipse election campaign

By Jonathan Gleave

Wed May 18, 2011 7:02pm BST

MADRID (Reuters) -

Thousands of young Spaniards angered over unemployment have taken to the streets across the country, demanding a boycott of the big political parties in local elections on Sunday.

The movement, coordinated through online social media, marks a shift in Spain where up to now people have scarcely protested against the European Union's highest jobless rate, a stagnant economy and government spending cuts.

Most of the protesters are young, from what the International Monetary Fund has called Spain's potential "lost generation," given youth unemployment of 45 percent.

"We want politicians who are concerned about our lives, not their own political and economic interests," said a spokesman for one of the protest movements, tomalaplaza.net, surrounded by campers who spent the night under awnings in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square. The man, in his 20s, declined to give his name.

Thousands of protesters who filled Puerta del Sol on Sunday and Monday were removed by police on Tuesday, then more returned on Tuesday night. Protesters called the plaza "Solution Square" and covered it banners demanding "Real Democracy Now" and slogans such as "Don't vote for them."

Some 200 camped out overnight and were cleaning up and arranging their tarpaulins on Wednesday morning. Authorities in Madrid and Granada rejected requests for rallies to be held later in the day.

"We're not afraid. We've been saying for days that we're not going away," one of the protesters said on Cadena Ser, Spain's most popular radio station.

The protesters, who also gathered in dozens of other cities around the country, are calling on people not to vote for the ruling Socialists or centre-right opposition Partido Popular in 8,116 municipal and 13 regional elections on Sunday.

Politicians from both parties have been implicated in corruption scandals in their traditional strongholds.

Government spending cuts aimed at avoiding a fiscal crisis that could trigger a fourth euro zone bailout have worsened the hangover from a housing boom and bust. Spanish growth is lagging that of central Europe and is not robust enough to create jobs.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's popularity has crumbled, but labour union protests against layoffs have been muted, partly because of strong ties with the ruling Socialists.

COULD HURT SOCIALISTS

Thousands also demonstrated in Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, Vigo and Bilbao.

But voters outside of Catalonia and the Basque Country, which have strong regional parties, have few alternatives to the two-party system which has controlled national politics since Spain became a democracy in 1978.

Smaller nationwide parties such as the United Left (IU), itself tainted by corruption accusations, have seen their representation squeezed by Spain's voting system, which favours large national parties and strong regional ones.

Abstention or voting for small parties is seen as damaging for the Socialists, who are expected to lose some city and regional governments they have controlled for decades.

The Popular Party, in opposition for eight years at the national level, is expected to make major gains on Sunday, possibly foreshadowing a return to power in general elections due by March next year.

The protests have captured the mood of young Spaniards, many of whom have their lives on hold as they search for work, and sites related to the movement occupy three of the top trending topics on Twitter for Spain.

"This is about being an outsider in your own country. There is the sense that the youth is the most important thing in a country, they should be providing the cutting edge ideas, they should feel like they are the future," said David Bach, a specialist in strategy and economics at Madrid's IE business school.

(Additional reporting by Blanca Rodriguez and Emma Pinedo; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Jon Hemming)

===========================

Watch Next

0:51

Spanish protest turns into sit-in in Madrid Square

Euronews | May 19

In Spain, thousands of young people have spent another night on the streets. Anti-government protests at the weekend seem to have turned into a spo...

Videos

0:51

Spanish Protestors Occupy Madrid Square

Euronews | May 19, 2011

In Spain, thousands of young people have spent another night on the streets. Anti-government protests at the weekend seem to have turned into a spontaneous sit-in. Most of the protesters are young and from what the IMF has called Spain's "lo...

1:01

Protesters to Quit Madrid's Demo Camp

Euronews | Jun 8, 2011

Spanish demonstrators have decided to dismantle their camp in the centre of Madrid that was set up to protest against the country's dire economic health. For more than three weeks, the tourist and commercial centre of the Spanish capital has w...

0:52

Spain's 'Indignants' Return to Protest in Madrid

Euronews | Jul 25, 2011

Thousands of young people have walked from all over Spain to protest in the capital. For many it was a return march after occupying Madrid's central Sol square last May. The youth protest movement has been dubbed "the indignant" and is h...

1:59

More Protests as Spanish Mortgage Defaults Grow

Associated Press | Jul 7, 2011

Street protests try to block evictions as more Spanish mortgage defaulters tumble into a deep pit of long-term debt.