Hundreds march in Madrid anti-austerity protest

Hundreds of Spaniards marched in Madrid on Saturday to protest over hardships in a recession brought on by the financial crisis that they blame on banks and corrupt politicians. Around 1,000 protestors of all ages marched peacefully up a central avenue from Atocha train station under banners with slogans such as "Bankers out of Power" and "Jobless, Homeless and Fearless". It was the first sizeable march of the autumn in the capital and the latest in a series this year against deficit-cutting measures such as pay and spending cuts as well as tax hikes that protestors say hurt the poor unfairly. "It is a swindle, a robbery," said one demonstrator, Emilia Fernandez, 58, a health care worker who said her pay has been cut by seven percent. "They cut our pay hugely but not the politicians'." Protests have been sharpened by the prospect that Spain may ask for a full international bailout to enable it to pay its debts. "It is not a bailout. It is a treat for politicians," Fernandez said. "It will allow them to control us and steal even more." Saturday's march was organised by the so-called May 15 movement that sprang up in 2011 with massive protests that swamped Madrid. They paused outside the health ministry to protest cuts to health care, and organisers said they planned to stop at various other official sites on the way to the Puerta del Sol square, the symbolic heart of the movement.