Spanish protests swell as jobless march on Madrid

Triumph of socialism.

Demonstrators hold up a placards in front of Madrid's City Hall during an unemployment protest against government austerity measures in Madrid July 21, 2012. The placard (R) reads: "De Guindos shit bag". (Reuters Pictures)

MADRID (Reuters) - Hundreds of unemployed Spaniards who had travelled hundreds of kilometers (miles) on foot to Madrid joined protests on Saturday against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government and its handling of an economic crisis in the EU country.

Demonstrations have swelled across Spain since the center-right government announced 65 billion euros in new spending cuts two weeks ago to satisfy the conditions of a euro zone bailout, with firefighters and police joining a mass protest on Thursday.

Several hundred jobless people journeyed on foot from the southern region of Andalucia, which has one of the worst unemployment rates in the country, northern Catalonia and other areas in an attempt to highlight the plight of the unemployed in recession-hit Spain, where almost one in four is without a job.

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