Hundreds protest in Spain against high unemployment and austerity

Hundreds of young Spaniards camped out in Madrid and other cities on Saturday to protest against high unemployment and austerity, defying a ban on demonstrations before local elections on Sunday.

The number of protesters, dubbed "los indignados" (the indignant), was expected to swell by the evening, after 25,000 people crammed into Madrid''s main square on Friday night.

Protesters also gathered in Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao and other cities, as they have been all week, urging people not to vote for either of Spain''s two main parties, the ruling Socialists or the centre-right opposition Popular Party.

"I''m protesting because I''ve got no job future in Spain even though I''ve finished my degree in tourism," said 25-year-old Inma Moreno on Madrid''s Puerta del Sol plaza. "This should make the political classes aware that something is not right."

The Socialists, blamed for their handling of the economic crisis, are expected to suffer major losses in the elections for 8,116 city councils and 13 of 17 regional governments.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has failed to contain the highest unemployment in the European Union at
21.3 percent, has said he understands the protesters.

Until now, Spaniards have been patient with austerity measures and a youth unemployment rate of 45 percent, but the protests show the frustration over the prolonged economic malaise.

"I''m happy that they''re finally protesting. It was about time," said Maria, an elderly woman with a cane, sitting next to a sleeping, dreadlocked young man on a sofa that had been moved into the Puerta del Sol plaza.

Unemployment

The woman, who declined to give her family name, said she was at the protest on Saturday to visit her grandson.

"We knew something like this would eventually happen. Spain''s politics has not been very convincing and with all the effects of the crisis, something had to happen," said sociologist Fermin Bouza of the Complutense University.

Fearing violent clashes, the government has not yet sent in police to enforce the ban, which went into effect at midnight and prohibits political events on the eve of the election. Each evening when the numbers of demonstrators swell,

immigrants move through the crowd selling beers out of backpacks, raising the possibility that alcohol could sour the so far
peaceful mood of the crowd.

"It''s a revolution, not a drinking party," said signs, trying to discourage protesters from turning the demonstrations into a gigantic "botellon", the Spanish word for gatherings of young people in city parks in the summer to drink.

Movement organisers were making efforts to keep the square clean on Saturday, using brooms donated by supporters.

Spain pulled out of recession at the start of last year but the economy has failed to gain serious momentum and unemployment
has spiralled ever higher.

The government''s borrowing costs have risen as investors see a risk that slow growth will make it impossible for Spain to cut its deficit, possibly setting it up for a financial crisis and rescue such as in Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

On Friday the risk premium on Spanish government bonds jumped to its highest level since January due to concerns over Greece''s need for a bigger bailout and that the election result in Spain would make it tough for the Socialists to implement further austerity measures.

Despite attracting huge media attention, analysts said the protests would not change the outcome of Sunday''s elections, other than to deepen the Socialist rout by motivating some people to vote for small leftist parties.

"It''ll have a very marginal effect, unless there''s some kind of violent outbreak over the weekend, which I doubt," said Fernando Fernandez, an analyst with IE Business School.