Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the streets of Madrid to protest the Spanish government's austerity measures on July 19, 2012.
One in four Spanish citizens are unemployed. Government employees were particularly affected by austerity measures, receiving a 7 percent cut in pay. The recent tax increase and spending limits are merely an addition to the austerity measures that have marked Spanish domestic policy in the past three years.
"Hundreds of thousands of citizens, including state officials such as police, firefighters, doctors and teachers, have left this afternoon to the streets across Spain to protest the cuts and tax increases. The event culminated in Madrid with strong riots, at 2 am still continue in the center of the city."