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THE PROTEST MARCH ARRIVED TO THE CAPITAL ON TUESDAY

Miners demonstrate for sector survival

Miners demonstrate for sector survival

The miners protest in the center of Madrid on Wednesday. (E.Villarino)

Ana I. Gracia - Sígueme en  Twitter  07/11/2012   (06:00 AM CET)

After a march of over 400 kilometers to Madrid from the northern regions of Asturias, León and Aragón, the Spanish miners continued their protest against government cuts outside the Minstry for Industry on Wednesday.  

Several groups of miners, who had walked from the three regions, united in Madrid on Tuesday night, where they were received by thousands of people who showed support for their protest against the government's drastic cuts in the coal mining industry

Spain’s Industry Minister José Manuel Soria has said the subsidies to the sector will be reduced by 63 percent in 2012, while the European Union has called for a reduction of the subsidies before 2018.

Threatened sector

What the miners ask for is continued support to the sector, or at least a less abrupt closure, as they see their villages and regions – some which live almost entirely on the coalmines – threatened by the closedown of the industry, affecting about 2,000 miners in the northern parts of Spain.

The government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has pushed forward an ambitious austerity program to tackle the deep economic crisis that includes budget cuts, not only in the mining sector, but in education, health care and several other sectors.

The protesters say they are determined not to leave the capital until they have reached an agreement with the authorities.


This article was translated and edited by Stina Lunden.


 
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