The Spanish Socialists have suffered, Sunday, May 22, a heavy defeat in local elections. The ruling party has been punished for his austerity policy against the crisis and record unemployment, which triggered an unprecedented social rebellion across the country. The Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), with 27.81% of votes, is far behind the conservative Popular Party (PP, 37.58%), according to final results almost.
This gap of nearly ten points just punish the Socialists, in power since 2004, ten months of March 2012 legislative and when the country is experiencing a wave of protests led by youth. "I know that many Spaniards suffer from serious difficulties (...) and that many young people see their future with concern.
Today, they expressed their discomfort," said the prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero . "It was reasonable to think that the Socialist Party would suffer retribution at the ballot box, we assume and understand," he added. The protesters who took possession of the place of the Puerta del Sol, the heart of Madrid, decided on Sunday to continue for at least a week this occupation.
In the evening, a crowd of several thousand people, and every day, invaded the place around the village of alternating blue tarps and tents became the heart of the dispute. The movement, which brings together many young people, but also citizens of all backgrounds, emerged from May 15 through social networks to grow rapidly, spreading throughout the country and structured.
Spontaneous, colorful, peaceful, laboratory of ideas for reforms to come, this citizens' movement, which is apolitical, denouncing social injustice, the excesses of capitalism, the "corrupt politicians". More importantly, it betrays the anguish of millions of Spaniards against unemployment, which reached 21.19% and affects nearly half of under 25 unemployed.
It also shows a great distrust of the major political parties. The rallies continued Saturday and Sunday in Madrid and in most cities in Spain, despite the electoral truce that forbade any political activity. But the government, in a delicate position, gave up far to evacuate the demonstrators by the police.
In this troubled context, all municipalities of Spain elected their city councils and thirteen of the seventeen autonomous regions in their parliaments. Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia and Andalusia vote on other dates. The announcement, April 2, Mr Zapatero's intention not to run for a third term in 2012 has had no effect on the declining popularity of his party.
The head of government has however rejected on Sunday the event of early elections. Barcelona lost the Socialists, the second largest city, they controlled since 1979 and the first elections in post-Franco era. They are overtaken by the conservative coalition Convergencia i Unio nationalist (CiU).
They were also beaten in Seville, Spain's fourth largest city. Among regions, the Socialists have lost one of their historical strongholds, Castile-Mancha. After these elections, they could not govern alone in one of the seventeen regions of Spain, Andalusia. Retains the right unsurprisingly Madrid and Valencia, the third largest city. 
This gap of nearly ten points just punish the Socialists, in power since 2004, ten months of March 2012 legislative and when the country is experiencing a wave of protests led by youth. "I know that many Spaniards suffer from serious difficulties (...) and that many young people see their future with concern.
Today, they expressed their discomfort," said the prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero . "It was reasonable to think that the Socialist Party would suffer retribution at the ballot box, we assume and understand," he added. The protesters who took possession of the place of the Puerta del Sol, the heart of Madrid, decided on Sunday to continue for at least a week this occupation.
In the evening, a crowd of several thousand people, and every day, invaded the place around the village of alternating blue tarps and tents became the heart of the dispute. The movement, which brings together many young people, but also citizens of all backgrounds, emerged from May 15 through social networks to grow rapidly, spreading throughout the country and structured.
Spontaneous, colorful, peaceful, laboratory of ideas for reforms to come, this citizens' movement, which is apolitical, denouncing social injustice, the excesses of capitalism, the "corrupt politicians". More importantly, it betrays the anguish of millions of Spaniards against unemployment, which reached 21.19% and affects nearly half of under 25 unemployed.
It also shows a great distrust of the major political parties. The rallies continued Saturday and Sunday in Madrid and in most cities in Spain, despite the electoral truce that forbade any political activity. But the government, in a delicate position, gave up far to evacuate the demonstrators by the police.
In this troubled context, all municipalities of Spain elected their city councils and thirteen of the seventeen autonomous regions in their parliaments. Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia and Andalusia vote on other dates. The announcement, April 2, Mr Zapatero's intention not to run for a third term in 2012 has had no effect on the declining popularity of his party.
The head of government has however rejected on Sunday the event of early elections. Barcelona lost the Socialists, the second largest city, they controlled since 1979 and the first elections in post-Franco era. They are overtaken by the conservative coalition Convergencia i Unio nationalist (CiU).
They were also beaten in Seville, Spain's fourth largest city. Among regions, the Socialists have lost one of their historical strongholds, Castile-Mancha. After these elections, they could not govern alone in one of the seventeen regions of Spain, Andalusia. Retains the right unsurprisingly Madrid and Valencia, the third largest city.
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