Police in Spain have clashed with so-called indignados demonstrators, protesting over the closure of Madrid’s main square.
Amateur footage purports to show scenes as the protesters tried to make their way to the Interior Ministry.
Several people were injured.
The unrest has been going on since Tuesday when police moved in to clear the remains of the Indignados camp – set up against the government response to the country’s econcomic crisis – from the Puerta del Sol square.
Normally bustling with tourists this time of year, the square is now empty with shops and restaurants shutting up too.
Riot police blocades have kept would-be indignados gathered in surrounding streets from returning to the square for now.
But officers say they will not be able to maintain the long hours asked of them much longer.
The three-day battle for Puerta del Sol — in pictures from our friend ROARMAG
For three days, the indignados have been trying to reclaim their square from the police. Tonight, an overwhelmed police force responded with violence.
Puerta del Sol was evicted by Spanish police on Tuesday, leading to a major popular backlash that same very night. For the past three days, thousands of outraged protesters have been trying to take back the square from police in a massive outburst of spontaneous non-violent civil disobedience.
Today, for the third day in a row, central Madrid was brought to a complete standstill. Sol remains occupied by police, who have blocked off all the access routes (itself an unprecedented feat in Spanish democratic history, and, according to the largest police union, a constitutionally illegal order by the government).
Tonight, a tired and overwhelming police force finally snapped and resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate violence. Prepare for an even greater backlash when Spain wakes up to these images tomorrow!
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.
23rd July Indignados re-occupy Puerta del Sol: around 20 thousand people at Puerta del Sol, Madrid #solrenace #spanishrevolution #globalrevolution
The arrival of the marches at Puerta del Sol was supported for tens of thousands of people and followed by various activities. #Marchaindignada, the Outraged March (or March of the Indignants) was quite successful and after around one month on the road, different groups of the various regions of Spain got to finally arrive at Puerta del Sol, promoting a moment of solidarity, unity and genuine enthusiasm:
On Saturday, the popular marches of the indignant arrived in Madrid — and took back the square.
On Saturday, the indignados brought much of Madrid to a standstill as the popular marches arrived in the city, taking six different routes from all over the country and culminating in a spectacular re-occupation of Puerta del Sol by tens of thousands of protesters.
And so, a month and a half after the original protest camp was broken down, Sol looks like Sol again. With an incredible degree of professionalism, the indignados set up a TV and radio studio, a communications center, a major kitchen, a sound installation, a clinic and more — all in one night.
Some of the marchers had been walking for over 500 kilometers as part of a campaign to spread awareness about the 15-M movement and its demands to the Spanish countryside and to hold popular assemblies with people who otherwise have little opportunity to participate given their geographic location.
The marches received a warm welcome from thousands of indignados and sympathizers as they arrived in Puerta del Sol from six different angles. In the evening, a major popular assembly was held which was closed off with live music. Today, tens of thousands are expected to take to the streets again for a major march through Madrid.
Also, in a sign that the movement is rapidly maturing into a serious platform for civic engagement and political activism, the 15-M movement has scheduled it’s first Social Forum for Monday.
Sol Square, 23 J. The marches arrive from all Spain. #Europeanrevolution #Globalrevolution #Spanishrevolution #mpi23J
