Protesters blame politicians for the struggling economy, calling them

corrupt bank thieves.

The Pendulum
About Cleo Dan
elonpendulum.com/2012/10/spains-economy-causes-continued-protests/
Cleo Dan
SEVILLE, SPAIN For students, walking home through the center of town from a late afternoon class
occasionally involves navigating through an organized, yet noisy, public protest on the cobblestone streets
of Seville.
Shiny banners denouncing the governments newest austerity plan, shrill sounds streaming from plastic
whistles, grumbling megaphones and strategically placed clusters of police are slowly becoming part of the
regular street scene in the historic city center of Seville. The street demonstrations manifest as peaceful
parades of frustrated citizens employ their freedom of speech as a channel through which to communicate
with the Spanish government.
Mariano Rajoy, Spains current conservative prime
minister, is the principal figure on the receiving
end of anti-government sentiments expressed by
protesters. Spains economic situation carries
substantial weight in the ongoing eurozone crisis.
Suffering from significant debt, the government
recently announced its plans to remedy the
financial catastrophe through a series of domestic
spending cuts, an agenda which has been met
with opposition from the public in all regions of the
country.
The government had two options: spending cuts
or raising taxes, said Antonio Rodriguez, a
Spanish citizen and professor of business at the
Council on International Educational Exchange.
They chose the cuts. For a conservative government, this choice was fairly expected.
The proposed program to reverse the national deficit will mean considerably less financial support for both
the health care and education systems, which affect Spanish citizens and their futures.
I believe these are the public sectors that should be untouchable, Rodriguez said. These laws will
certainly have an effect on the citizens.
Maria del Mar Colchero Becerril, a student at the University of Seville who has spent her entire life in this
Andalusian city, said she believes the new austerity policy will provoke a Spanish diaspora of college
graduates seeking better employment opportunities elsewhere in the world.
The high unemployment rate in Spain is just another issue provoking citizens to react negatively against
the government. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate was 25.1
percent as of August 2012, which is an increase from 11.3 percent in 2008.
Educated people are the means through which the country will move forward, but without a solid
educational system in Spain, the future looks bleak for us, Becerril said.
In both the United States and Spain, the promise for affordable higher education remains a key issue in
political debates and public dialogue. Although the average cost for attending university is considerably
higher in America, tuition rates in Spain have climbed to rates most Spaniards find unacceptable.
Post-graduate education fees are absolutely brutal, Rodriguez said.
Throughout Spains major cities from Bilbao to Madrid, street protests voicing resentment against the
proposed austerity plan have become increasingly frequent and better organized.
Recently, street protests in Madrid transformed from a nonviolent conglomeration of citizens into a hostile
display of antagonism as protesters and police brawled in the streets. Across Spain, video coverage of
police battering citizens with bats and rubber bullets aired on local nightly news channels and newspaper
headlines referenced the chaos in Madrid.
Rodriguez said he believes the recent violent aspect of the Madrid street protests is an inevitable
consequence of the mobilization of citizens against the central governments social spending cuts.
This is a desperate situation, Rodriguez said. The people are fed up. These protests are not the only
things that will occur. We will most definitely see more.