Around 20,000 people took to the streets of Madrid yesterday afternoon in protest at the current political system. The protest organized by a group called ‘Democracia Real Ya’ (Real Democracy Now) called for social and political change in Spain. Fabio Gándara the spokesperson for ‘Democracia Real Ya’ said that the objective of the march was to get people out onto the streets to show their indignation at the current system. He spoke of an ‘ethical revolution’ in which the protests yesterday should provide a ‘point of reflexion’. The march began yesterday at 18.00 from the Puerta del Sol in Madrid under a banner saying ‘we are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers’. A number of young people wore yellow t-shirts carrying the slogan ‘no home, no job, no pension and not afraid’ provided by a group called ‘Youth with no Future’. The organizers of a similar protest in Barcelona say that 15,000 people took part. Some of the slogans on their banners referred to Iceland and the fact that the government has refused to recognise its debt.

The protest was transmitted live on the internet and it is believed that around 2000 people followed the march online. In total there were similar protests in around 50 cities throughout Spain. Participants have shared their photos on the internet, Twitter the social networking site has been particularly useful in this respect.