The Spanish Popular Party came out victorious in local and regional elections Sunday, according to early results, while demonstrators around the country said they plan to keep protesting for at least another week.
With 99.9 percent of votes counted, the center-right People’s Party had the lead with 37.5 percent of votes, according to official results from Spain’s Ministry of the Interior.
As predicted, the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) lost significantly with the government’s handling of the economic crisis and harsh austerity measures playing a big role in low, 27.8 percent, voter support. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said at a press conference Sunday night that his party had “clearly lost” and congratulated the PP and others on their wins.
The elections came amid massive demonstrations around the country against government policies and unemployment.
The demonstrations, known as Movimiento 15M (Movement of May 15), began last Sunday on May 15 in Puerta del Sol plaza in central Madrid. They have since spread to 166 cities around the county, the Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.
Further Protests
Protesters do not feel more kindly toward the PP than the PSOE. In a Tweet Sunday afternoon in an account of the activities in Madrid, demonstrators said they plan to stay on Puerta del Sol plaza for at least another week.
“One of several reasons to continue [to demonstrate] is to export the working model to others places of Madrid,” read the explanation by the general assembly of Acampada Sol.
Demonstrators set up camp on Puerta del Sol after one person rolled out a sleeping bag and declared his intention to stay. The center of the square has since become a giant camp of tents and sleeping bags housing some of the tens of thousands of people who have gathered to protest government policies.
Protests have remained peaceful and Spanish authorities did not attempt to remove the tents in the plaza ahead of elections, although under Spanish law political demonstrations before elections are prohibited. Authorities had removed some tents last weekend, CSI reported.
Spain has seen its unemployment rate soar in recent years. Unemployment and economic reform are among the greatest complaints demonstrators have who otherwise, seem more divided than together in their demands. Spain’s unemployment, currently at 21 percent, is the highest in the industrialized world, while unemployment among youth is 45 percent.
Demonstrations have spread across Europe with Spaniards coming to the streets across Europe in cities such as Berlin and Amsterdam over the weekend.
Ten Italian cities have also had similar plaza demonstrations, CSI reported.
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