Madrid Spain Spain's 'Indignant': Al Jazeera Video Coverage Puerta del Sol Spanish Revolution

Outraged Spain's 'indignant' Madrid

Spain's 'indignant' converge on Madrid


Two months after launching a movement against the economic crisis and soaring unemployment in Spain, the country's so-called "indignant" protesters have converged on Madrid.

People came from across Spain, all united in frustration about the way they have been treated.

They have been stopping in towns and villages along the way to spread their message of outrage at unemployment, welfare cuts and corruption.

Al Jazeera's Emma Hayward reports from Madrid.



Two months later, Spain's 'indignant' converge on Madrid


Spanish "indignant" activists gather at Constitucion Square before a march through the streets of Madrid which will end at Puerta del Sol Square. Seven cross-country protest marches organised by Spain's "indignant" movement are set to converge Saturday in central Madrid, on the eve of a demonstration in the Spanish capital.

AFP - Two months after they launched a movement against the economic crisis and soaring unemployment, Spain's so-called "indignant" protesters were converging on Madrid again on Saturday.

Seven cross-country protest marches were set to reach the city's Puerto del Sol square Saturday evening on the eve of a demonstration through the streets of the Spanish capital.

Marcha Indignada Spain's 'Indignant' pit stop on the way to Madrid

Protesters carrying sleeping bags and groundsheets set off from cities across the country at the end of June, including Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia and Bilbao, to applause from sympathisers.

They have stopped in towns and villages along the way, holding meetings at each stop to spread their message of outrage at unemployment, welfare cuts and corruption.

In the Puerta del Sol Saturday, organisers were busy setting up tents, tarpaulins and stands.

Some of the placards read: "The guilty must pay for the crisis," and "Cutbacks for the rich first."

A vast ramshackle protest camp in the square was dismantled on June 12 but the group has since mounted a series of protests, rallying an estimated 200,000 people across Spain on June 19.

The protesters have won broad public support in their fight against austerity measures, a 21.29-percent unemployment rate and corruption-tainted politicians.

"We are preparing the camp to receive the marchers from across the country, we are setting up a big kitchen," said Rafael Rodriguez Ballesteros, 56. An unemployed chef, he has been preparing thousands of meals for the demonstrators.

"We have returned to show that the movement is not dead, that it's still alive, despite the holidays."

City residents joined the marchers as they reached the outskirts of Madrid Saturday.

Many more will arrive by bus from about 30 towns and cities on Sunday, when the protesters will march through the streets of Madrid, with the demonstration ending in Puerta del Sol.

"In two months, we have had some good responses," said Fernando Carasa, 26, an anthropology student.

"We have stopped about 60 expulsions, created social pressure, achieved a bigger mobilisation than any political party," he said.

The "indignants" have been blocking bailiffs from expelling people from their homes because they cannot pay their mortgages.

Earlier this month Spain's Socialist government set new limits on the amount of money that banks can reclaim from mortgage defaulters in what was seen as an effort to appease the protesters.

The "indignant" movement emerged after protesters set up camp in the Puerta del Sol in mid-May.

It quickly fanned out nationwide as word spread by Twitter and Facebook, bringing tens of thousands of people into city squares around Spain ahead of May 22 local elections.