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MADRID – Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday defended his government'sharsh austerity measures aimed at correcting Spain's grim economicforecast, one day after tens of thousands of Spaniards took to thestreets to protest his handling of the country's worst crisis indecades. Rajoy said the measures are "necessary" given Spain's diresituation, which includes a staggering unemployment rate of almost25 percent. "We are doing what is needed and that means taking difficultdecisions," said Rajoy. "We are doing things that were not in ourcampaign platform, but we have to do them. "There are decisionsthat we don't like, but I can tell you that we will continue totake the decisions necessary to see Spain through this situation." The government's cuts brought waves of Spaniards out on the streetsof various cities Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of thebirth of the "Indignant Movement" — a spontaneous movementthat inspired similar anti-authority demonstrations around theworld. A total of 72,000 people protested across Spain, according to thepolice, with 30,000 in Barcelona and 22,000 in Madrid. On Sunday, police said they arrested 18 protesters who spent allnight in the Spanish capital's Puerta del Sol area, clamoring foran end to what they consider to be hardline measures by thegovernment. A police spokeswoman, speaking under customary condition ofanonymity due to police policy, told The Associated Press that twoofficers were injured early Sunday morning in Madrid when theytried to evict hundreds of protesters from the large public square.Local media have reported that they were not seriously hurt. "The night passed without major incidents. The square is completelycleared," the spokeswoman said. Spanish media reported that police also evicted protesters earlySunday morning from public spaces in other cities, includingValencia, Zaragoza, Cadiz and Palma de Mallorca. Protests are expected to continue until Tuesday. Last year similar demonstrations beginning May 15 led to"indignant" Spaniards establishing camps in squares in cities suchas Madrid and Barcelona that stood for weeks. Authorities want to avoid a repeat of those tent cities. Madrid hasestablished a curfew in the Puerta del Sol from midnight to 10:00a.m. Spain has entered a recession for the second time since the globaleconomic downturn, and its unemployment rate is the highest amongthe 17 countries using the euro. Hammered by surging interest rates on government bonds, Rajoy'sconservative government has introduced a series of cuts to socialservices, health and education since taking power this year. On Friday, the government told Spanish banks that they mustallocate another euro30 billion ($40 billion) to cover potentiallosses on toxic real estate holdings and ordered an independentaudit of their debt in an effort to restore confidence in thenation's beleaguered banking sector. "This is about solving this situation for once and all," Rajoy saidSunday. "This is about erasing all the doubts regarding our bankingsector. We are doing what should have been done four years ago andwasn't done." ___ Wilson reported from Barcelona. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as RF Beauty Machine Manufacturer , China Laser Tattoo Removal Machine for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Cavitation Beauty Machine.
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