About 250,000 people marched through Madrid on Saturday to demand protection for Spain's state pension system ahead of the November 29 election. The rally comes amid a political dispute over inflation-linked pension increases, concerns about privatisation and rising living costs. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused the right of planning to weaken inflation-linked pension increases.
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About 25,000 people rallied in Madrid on Saturday in support of Spain's state pension scheme, demanding that pensions remain indexed to inflation and that the gender pension gap be eliminated. Demonstrators fear the scheme could be significantly weakened depending on who wins next month's general election. The country's monthly pension bill hit a record of almost 14.5 billion euros ($16.2bn) this year, amid an ageing population, a low birth rate, wage stagnation and a falling ratio of workers to pensioners. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused the Popular Party (PP) of planning to weaken inflation-linked pension increases, while its leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said it would keep raising pensions in line with inflation if it wins.
- 250 , 000 rally in Madrid demanding state pension guarantees
About 250,000 people marched in Madrid, Spain, demanding guarantees for state pensions amid a political dispute over the sustainability of the pension system and the cost of living. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused the right of planning to weaken inflation-linked pension increases, while the opposition Popular Party (PP) said it would keep raising pensions in line with inflation each year if it wins the November 29 election. Protesters voiced concern about privatisation, including a 38-year-old civil servant in Seville who said he was unsure he would receive a future pension. As of September, around 6.8 million Spaniards received a state pension, with an average of 1,576 euros ($1,765) a month.
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- 250,000 rally in Madrid to demand state pension guarantees
The rally took place amid a political dispute over the sustainability of Spain’s pension system and the cost of living, with Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accusing the right of planning to weaken inflation-linked pension increases. Madrid authorities told AFP that around 250,000 people marched peacefully from Atocha station to the Gran Via. Some protesters opposed privatizing the system, while Popular Party MP Ester Munoz had earlier this month predicted the current system would “collapse.” PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo pledged to keep raising pensions in line with inflation each year if his party wins the Nov 29 election and he becomes prime minister, and Sanchez accuses the PP of questioning the mechanism in force since 2022. About 6.8 million Spaniards receive a state pension, with an average of €1,576 (US$1,765) a month as of September, according to the social security ministry.
- Spain inflation reaches highest rate in more than three years - The Leader
Inflation in Spain accelerated in September to its highest level since February 2023, mainly driven by higher fuel and air travel prices, according to final figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) released on Wednesday. The EU-harmonised annual rate rose to 5.0% from 4.6% in August, matching the INE's preliminary estimate and the average forecast of analysts polled by Reuters. Core inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food and energy, climbed to 3.1% from 2.9%. Spain's national consumer price index showed annual inflation of 4.9% in September, up from 4.3% in August, in line with the preliminary estimate. The article notes that inflation surged globally after the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that Spain's rate hit a level last seen in 1984 in 2022 and has mostly stayed above the ECB's 2% target since.
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