Big protest in Spain against government cuts

MADRID (AP) – Tens of thousands of demonstrators from across Spain marched in central Madrid to protest government measures they say violate civil rights in the country.

Six columns of protesters – each from a different region of Spain – arrived on the outskirts of the city early Saturday morning before heading to Plaza Colon, carrying banners reading “March for Dignity.”

By late afternoon, Madrid’s main boulevard, Paseo del Prado, was packed with people chanting against the government’s austerity policies and the cuts associated with them.

The protest includes trade unions, government officials and organizations representing people evicted from their homes for being unable to repay their mortgage after losing their jobs.

One woman carried a banner that read: “My daughter cannot be here because she had to emigrate.”