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DEMONSTRATION

Protests skyrocket as Spain takes to streets

If you thought there were more demonstrations than usual in Spain in 2012 , your eyes weren't deceiving you: the total number of protests more than doubled 2011 figures.

Protests skyrocket as Spain takes to streets
Spain saw an average of 121 protests a day in 2012. Photo: Chris Brown

With protests against spending cuts in health and education, and two general strikes, not to mention demonstrations against corruption, Spain had a busy 2012 in terms of getting out on the streets.

In fact, there were 44,233 demonstrations in Spain in 2012, or more than double the 2011 figure of 21,297.

That's a rise of 107.36 percent, according to a statistics report released by Spain's Interior Ministry on Tuesday.

It also means there were an average of 121 protests per day in 2012.

Andalusia was the protest capital of Spain on a region-by-region basis with the southern region notching up 7,742 protests in 2012.

Valencia and the Basque Country also saw plenty of demonstrations, recording 3,974 and 3,916 protests respectively.

Over half of the demonstrations in the Basque Country centred on support for ETA and the release of ETA protests.

Madrid — a traditional protest capital — managed only sixth place in the regional rankings with 3,186 protests in 2012.

Of these, around a third (1,103) involved people demonstrating against political measures and laws.

The report shows that just over a third of these demonstrations, or 15,182 concerned workplace relations issues.

Almost a quarter (9,780) were protesting political measures and laws and around 10 percent (4,443) centred on neighbourhood issues.

Just under 3,000 demonstrations were demonstrations in support of ETA and the release of ETA prisoners.

Almost half of all of Spain's demonstrations in Spain in 2012 were organized by unions, with that number being 18,695. Meanwhile citizen's groups staged around a quarter of these protests, or 10,566.

Business and worker groups were also responsible for a high number of demonstrations at 7,825.

Only 203 demonstrations were denied police permission in Spain in 2013, with Andalusia's Cadiz province being responsible for 142 of these.

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