Expatica news

Tens of thousands march in Spain against spending cuts

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets Thursday in eastern Spain to protest against spending cuts by the debt-ridden regional government of Valencia.

The demonstrators marched in the region’s three largest cities — Alicante, Castellon and Valencia — behind large banners that read “No to cuts to public services” in response to an appeal by Spain’s main unions.

Some 200,000 people took part in the protests in the three cities, Spanish media reported, citing union officials.

The largest protest was in Valencia where about 100,000 people turned out. The protest in Alicante drew 60,000 people and the one in Castellon over 30,000.

Unions called the protest after the regional government of Valencia, Spain’s most indebted region, announced spending cuts to health and education totaling 1.1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) on January 5.

Like other Spanish regions, Valencia is under pressure from the central government to help bring Spain’s deficit down and make sure the country does not get dragged into the debt crisis mire that has already forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek financial bailouts.

The Valencia region on Spain’s Mediterranean coast was a paradise for investors during the property boom which long fueled growth in the country.

But since Spain’s property bubble collapsed in 2008 it has become the country’s most indebted region with debts of 20.5 billion euros or the equivalent of 19.9 percent of its gross domestic product.