Latest news with #manifestación
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Spaniards Packing Water Guns Blame Impact of Mass Tourism for Housing Crunch
Protesters used water pistols against unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona on Sunday as demonstrators marched to demand a re-think of an economic model they believe is fueling a housing crunch and erasing the character of the Spanish city. 'The squirt guns are to bother the tourists a bit,' Andreu Martínez said with a chuckle after spritzing a couple seated at an outdoor cafe. 'Barcelona has been handed to the tourists. This is a fight to give Barcelona back to its residents.' Martínez, a 42-year-old administrative assistant, is one of a growing number of residents who are convinced that tourism has gone too far in the city of 1.7 million people. Barcelona hosted 15.5 million visitors last year, eager to see Antoni Gaudí's La Sagrada Família basilica and the Las Ramblas promenade. Martínez says his rent has risen over 30 percent as more apartments in his neighborhood are rented to tourists for short-term stays. He said there is a knock-on effect of traditional stores being replaced by businesses catering to tourists, like souvenir shops, burger joints, and bubble tea spots. 'Our lives as lifelong residents of Barcelona is coming to an end,' he said. 'We are being pushed out systematically.' Similar demonstrations against tourism are slated in several other Spanish cities on Sunday, including on the Balearic islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, as well as in the Italian postcard city of Venice, Portugal's capital Lisbon, and other cities across southern Europe – marking the first time a protest against tourism has been coordinated across the region. In Barcelona, protesters blew whistles and chanted 'Everywhere you look, all you see are tourists.' They held up homemade signs saying 'One more tourist, one less resident' and 'Your Airbnb was my home.' They stuck stickers saying 'Citizen Self-Defense' in Catalan and 'Tourist Go Home' in English, with a drawing of a water pistol, on the doors of hotels and hostels. There was tension when the march stopped in front of a large hostel where a group emptied their water guns at two workers positioned in the entrance. They also set off firecrackers next to the hostel and opened a can of pink smoke. One worker spat at the protesters as he slammed the hostel's doors. American tourists Wanda and Bill Dorozenski were walking along Barcelona's main luxury shopping boulevard where the protest started. They received a squirt or two, but she said it was actually refreshing given the 83 degrees Fahrenheit (28.3 degrees Celsius) weather. 'That's lovely, thank you, sweetheart,' Wanda said to the squirter. 'I am not going to complain. These people are feeling something, to them that is very personal and is perhaps destroying some areas (of the city).' Cities across the world are struggling with how to cope with overtourism and a boom in short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, but perhaps nowhere has surging discontent been so evident as in Barcelona, where protesters first took to firing squirt guns at tourists during a protest last summer. Spaniards have also staged several large protests in Barcelona, Madrid, and other cities in recent years to demand lower rents. There has also been a confluence of the pro-housing and anti-tourism struggles: When thousands marched through the streets of Spain's capital in April, some held homemade signs saying 'Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods.' Spain, with a population of 48 million, hosted a record 94 million international visitors in 2024, compared with 83 million in 2019, making it one of the most-visited countries in the world. A poll in June 2022 found just 2 percent of Spaniards thought housing was a national problem. Three years later, almost a third of those surveyed said it is now a leading concern. Spain's official public opinion office said 76 percent of people responded 'Yes' last year when asked if they were in favor of tighter government regulations on tourist apartments. (Those polls were of 4,000 people with a margin of error of 1.6 percent.) Spain's municipal and federal authorities are striving to show they hear the public outcry and are taking appropriate action to put the tourism industry on notice, despite the fact it contributes 12 percent of national GDP. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to remove almost 66,000 holiday rentals from the platform, which it said had violated local rules. Spain's Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told The Associated Press shortly after the crackdown on Airbnb that 'the tourism sector cannot jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,' which enshrines their right to housing and well-being. Carlos Cuerpo, the economy minister, said in a separate interview that the government is aware it must tackle the unwanted side effects of mass tourism. And last year, Barcelona stunned Airbnb and other services who help rent properties to tourists by announcing the elimination of all 10,000 short-term rental licenses in the city by 2028. The short-term rental industry, for its part, believes it is being treated unfairly. 'I think a lot of our politicians have found an easy scapegoat to blame for the inefficiencies of their policies in terms of housing and tourism over the last 10, 15, 20 years,' Airbnb's general director for Spain and Portugal, Jaime Rodríguez de Santiago, recently told the AP. That argument either hasn't trickled down to the ordinary residents of Barcelona or isn't resonating. But Txema Escorsa, a teacher in Barcelona, doesn't just oppose Airbnb in his home city; he has ceased to use it even when traveling elsewhere out of principle. 'In the end, you realize that this is taking away housing from people,' he said. The government measures were not enough to keep Sunday's marchers at home in Barcelona.
Free Malaysia Today
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Tens of thousands join anti-government protest in Madrid
The PP estimated that more than 100,000 people attended today's rally in Madrid. (EPA Images pic) MADRID : Tens of thousands of people rallied today in an opposition-organised demonstration in Madrid accusing the government of prime minister Pedro Sanchez of corruption. Protesters, many waving red and yellow Spanish flags, massed in the Plaza de Espana, a large square in the centre of the Spanish capital, and chanted 'Pedro Sanchez, resign!' The Popular Party (PP) called the rally after leaked audio recordings allegedly documented a member of the Socialist party, Leire Diez, waging a smear campaign against a police unit that investigated graft allegations against Sanchez's wife, brother, and his former right-hand man. Diez has denied the allegations, telling reporters on Wednesday that she was conducting research for a book and was not working on behalf of the party or Sanchez. She also resigned from Sanchez's Socialist party. PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo has accused the government of 'mafia practices' over the affair, and said Sanchez is 'at the centre' of multiple corruption scandals. 'This government has stained everything – politics, state institutions, the separation of powers,' he told the rally, going on to urge Sanchez to call early elections. The PP estimated that more than 100,000 people attended the rally, held under the slogan 'Mafia or Democracy'. The central government's representative in Madrid put the turnout between 45,000 and 50,000. 'The expiry date on this government passed a long time ago. It's getting tiring,' Blanca Requejo, a 46-year-old store manager who wore a Spanish flag draped over her back, told AFP at the rally. Sanchez has dismissed the probes against members of his inner circle as part of a 'smear campaign' carried out by the right wing to undermine his government. He came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, in a no-confidence vote over a corruption scandal affecting involving the conservative party. Recent polls show the PP holding only a slim lead over the Socialists. The next general election is expected in 2027.
Al Jazeera
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Mass demonstration calls for Spain's leader to resign over corruption
Tens of thousands of people have taken part in an opposition-organised demonstration in Spain's capital, Madrid, accusing the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of corruption and urging him to call early elections. Protesters, many waving red and yellow Spanish flags, massed on Sunday in the Plaza de Espana, a large square in the centre of Madrid, and chanted, 'Pedro Sanchez, resign!' The conservative Popular Party (PP) called the rally after leaked audio recordings allegedly documented a member of the Socialist Workers' Party, Leire Diez, waging a smear campaign against a police unit that investigated corruption allegations against Sanchez's wife, brother, and his former transport minister and right-hand man Jose Luis Abalos. Diez has denied the allegations, telling reporters on Wednesday that she was conducting research for a book and was not working on behalf of the party or Sanchez. She also resigned from Sanchez's party. PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo has accused the government of 'mafia practices' over the affair and said Sanchez is 'at the centre' of multiple corruption scandals. Sanchez and his government have been embroiled in numerous scandals with perhaps the most significant being the 'Koldo Case', or 'Masks Case', which concerns corruption allegations in the awarding of public contracts for medical supplies, particularly masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case involves Abalos and his former adviser Koldo Garcia Izaguirre, the latter of whom is accused of using his influence to secure contracts for certain companies and receiving substantial commissions in return. Sanchez considered stepping down in April 2024 after a Madrid court opened an investigation into his wife, Begona Gomez, on suspicion of influence peddling and business corruption. The right-wing organisation Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) initially made the allegations against Gomez, who is accused of using her position to influence the awarding of government contracts and of irregularities in her professional activities. Sanchez has dismissed the probes against members of his inner circle and family as part of a 'smear campaign' carried out by the right wing to undermine his government. But Feijoo urged Sanchez to call early elections and told the rally: 'This government has stained everything – politics, state institutions, the separation of powers.' The PP estimated that more than 100,000 people attended the rally, held under the slogan 'Mafia or Democracy', while the central government's representative in Madrid put the turnout at 45,000 to 50,000. 'The expiry date on this government passed a long time ago. It's getting tiring,' protester Blanca Requejo, a 46-year-old store manager who wore a Spanish flag draped over her back, told the AFP news agency. Sanchez came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote over a corruption scandal involving the conservative party. Recent polls indicated the PP holds a slim lead in support over the Socialists. Spain's next general election is expected in 2027.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tens of thousands join anti-government protest in Madrid
Tens of thousands of people rallied Sunday in an opposition-organised demonstration in Madrid accusing the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of corruption. Protesters, many waving red and yellow Spanish flags, massed in the Plaza de Espana, a large square in the centre of the Spanish capital, and chanted "Pedro Sanchez, resign!". "The expiry date on this government passed a long time ago. It's getting tiring," Blanca Requejo, a 46-year-old store manager who wore a Spanish flag drapped over her back, told AFP at the demonstration. The Popular Party (PP) called the rally after leaked audio recordings allegedly documented a member of the Socialist party, Leire Diez, waging a smear campaign against a police unit that investigated graft allegations against Sanchez's wife, brother and his former right-hand man. Diez has denied the allegations, telling reporters on Wednesday that she was conducting research for a book and was not working on behalf of the party or Sanchez. She also resigned from Sanchez's Socialist party. PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo has accused the government of "mafia practices" over the affair, and said Sanchez is "at the centre" of multiple corruption scandals. "This government has stained everything -- politics, state institutions, the separation of powers," he told the rally, going on to urge Sanchez to call early elections. The PP estimated that more than 100,000 people attended the rally, held under the slogan "Mafia or Democracy." The central government's representative in Madrid put the turnout between 45,000 and 50,000. - 'Go away' - The government's spokeswoman, Pilar Alegria, mocked the turnout, writing on X that veteran Spanish rock duo Estopa drew a larger crowd to their recent concert at Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano stadium than "the apocalyptic Feijoo at the Plaza de Espana." Sanchez has dismissed the probes against members of his inner circle as part of a "smear campaign" carried out by the right wing to undermine his government. He came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, in a no-confidence vote over a corruption scandals affecting involving the conservative party. Rafael Redondo, a 73-year-old real estate agent, said the corruption cases that have affected the PP were "completely different". "The corruption that may have existed in the PP involved individuals acting on their own. But the Socialist Party is a criminal organisation which has committed crimes from A to Z," he told AFP at the rally. Maria del Mar Tome, a 59-year-old businesswoman, said she had turned up because "we want Pedro Sanchez to go away once and for all, because this man is corrupt, he's a liar." - Poll lead - This is the sixth protest which the PP has organised against the government since Feijoo took the helm of the party in April 2022 The demonstration comes as the PP is gearing up for an extraordinary party congress set for July. Originally set for 2026, Feijoo moved the event forward, citing the need for the party to "be prepared" in case of early national elections in what was seen as an effort to consolidate his power. Rajoy and another former PP prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, attended Sunday's rally, along with several heads of regional governments. Recent polls show the PP holding only a slim lead over the Socialists. although Sanchez remains the most highly rated party leader among voters. One in four voters, 24.6 percent, said Sanchez is their favourite party leader to lead the country, ahead of the leader of far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, who was picked by 17.1 percent, according to a poll published Monday in daily newspaper El Pais. Feijoo was the third most popular option, with 16.6 percent. The next general election is expected in 2027. vid-ds/cw
Khaleej Times
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Tens of thousands join anti-government protest in Madrid
Tens of thousands of people rallied Sunday in an opposition-organised demonstration in Madrid accusing the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of corruption. Protesters, many waving red and yellow Spanish flags, massed in the Plaza de Espana, a large square in the centre of the Spanish capital, and chanted 'Perdo Sanchez, resign!'. The Popular Party (PP) called the rally after leaked audio recordings allegedly documented a member of the Socialist party, Leire Diez, waging a smear campaign against a police unit that investigated graft allegations against Sanchez's wife, brother, and his former right-hand man. Diez has denied the allegations, telling reporters on Wednesday that she was conducting research for a book and was not working on behalf of the party or Sanchez. She also resigned from Sanchez's Socialist party. PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo has accused the government of 'mafia practices' over the affair, and said Sanchez is 'at the centre' of multiple corruption scandals. "This government has stained everything -- politics, state institutions, the separation of powers," he told the rally, going on to urge Sanchez to call early elections. The PP estimated that more than 100,000 people attended the rally, held under the slogan "Mafia or Democracy." The central government's representative in Madrid put the turnout between 45,000 and 50,000. "The expiry date on this government passed a long time ago. It's getting tiring," Blanca Requejo, a 46-year-old store manager who wore a Spanish flag drapped over her back, told AFP at the rally. Sanchez has dismissed the probes against members of his inner circle as part of a "smear campaign" carried out by the right wing to undermine his government. He came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, in a no-confidence vote over a corruption scandal affecting involving the conservative party. Recent polls show the PP holding only a slim lead over the Socialists. The next general election is expected in 2027.
