Thousands of residents and medical workers in Spain angered by the plans to privatize part of the National Health Service and by the huge budget cuts marched on Sunday through many of the most famous squares located in Madrid.
Over 5,000 people formed a rally in Puerta del Sol, after marching from the Cibeles and Neptuno squares. Organizers put the total attendance at the protests at about 25,000, with many dressed all in blue and white hospital scrubs. Organizers called the march the white tide and was this year’s third large protest.
A spokesperson for the protests’ organizers said that privatization plans were shortsighted since they were not taking into account savings that could be received without selling off the services. The spokesperson said that the plans just mean a complete change to the healthcare model in the country and a complete dismantling of the current system.
Education and healthcare are administered through the 17 semi-autonomous regions of Spain, rather than by the country’s central government. Each one sets up its spending and budget plans. The 17 regions account for close to 40% of all of the public spending. The region of Madrid is run by the Popular Party, which is center right and aligned with the central government of Mariano Rajoy the Prime Minister.
Many of the regions within Spain have struggled as the economy in the country contracts into another recession that was originally triggered by the crash of real estate in 2008.
