Thousands in Spain protest austerity, corruption

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  Denis Doyle / Getty ImagesDemonstrators protest on Calle Alcala during a march by thousands of people on Feb. 23, 2013 in Madrid. Public health workers, civil servants and disaffected citizens converged on central Madrid to protest against the austerity measures of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. By Paul Day, ReutersTens of thousands of Spaniards marched through cities across the country  on Saturday to protest deep austerity, the privatization of public  services and political corruption.

Gathering under the banner of  the "Citizen Tide," students, doctors, unionists, young families and  pensioners staged rowdy but non-violent demonstrations as a near  five-year economic slump shows no sign of recovery and mass unemployment  rises.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld"I'm here to add my voice. They're cutting where they  shouldn't cut; health, education ... basic services. And the latest  corruption scandal is just the tiniest tip of a very large iceberg,"  said Alberto, 51, an account administrator for a German multinational in  Madrid, who preferred not to give his surname.

Protests in  Spain have become commonplace as the conservative government passes  measures aimed at shrinking one of the euro zone's highest budget  deficits and reinventing an economy hobbled by a burst housing bubble.

Prime  Minister Mariano Rajoy has introduced some of the deepest budget cuts  in Spain's democratic history in an attempt to convince investors the  country can weather the economic crisis without falling back on  international aid.


But, with more than half of the country's  young people out of work and growth not expected until sometime next  year, the measures have only scratched the surface of the budget  shortfall which is expected to be more than double the target in 2014. Cesar Manso / AFP - Getty ImagesPublic workers, small political parties and non-profit organizations stage a protest against government austerity on Feb. 23, 2013 in Madrid.Meanwhile,  corruption scandals that have hit the ruling party as well as the  once-popular royal family has left many Spaniards disenchanted with  their leaders on all sides of the political spectrum.

In Madrid,  under a clear, cold winter sky, Saturday's marches convened from four  different points by early evening in Neptune Square, between the heavily  policed and barricaded parliament, the Ritz Hotel and the stock  exchange.

Carrying placards that condemned everything from cuts  in the health sector to massive bailouts granted to Spain's banking  system, crowds banged drums and chanted, while dozens of riot police  stood on the sidelines.

The march coincided with the anniversary  of a failed coup attempt in 1981 by Civil Guard officers who stormed  Parliament and held deputies hostage until the next day.

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