Spaniards Protest, Clash with Police

The people of Spain, taking a page from the Tunisian and Egyptian playbooks, have been protesting around the clock and occupying the streets of major Spanish cities since May 15. Angered by austerity measures, a 21.3 percent unemployment rate, and a corrupt two-party government, the Spanish people are demanding "real democracy."

The country-wide protest began in Madrid, in the plaza of Puerta del Sol, a week before the country's elections. The protests then spread to other cities, including Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and Seville. The government attempted to stop the protests by banning demonstrations and giving orders to disband, but the youth of Spain have defiantly persisted with their protests.

Riot police clashed with the protesters in Barcelona today in an attempt to remove camps from the protest site. 84 protesters and 37 police were injured in the clash. Clashes also took place in the city of Lleida.

Faced with youth unemployment at over 40 percent, a lack of jobs for college-educated people, pay freezes for workers and the raising of the retirement age by the Spanish government, the Spanish people are fed up. While the rest of the world faced the Great Depression of the 20th Century, the Soviet Union saw industrial growth and everyone had a job. In Cuba, the unemployment rate was, until late last year, only around 2 percent. Communism is the answer to the problems of Spain. Time for a people's revolution!