Madrid protesters rally to protect Spanish state pensions

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through central Madrid on October 24 to demand guarantees for the Spanish state pension system. While authorities estimated the crowd at approximately 25,000, organizers from groups such as COESPE reported that more than 50,000 pensioners and workers participated in the mobilization.

The protest occurs ahead of a parliamentary election scheduled for November 29. The demonstration focused on preventing cuts or privatization of public pensions and ensuring increases remain linked to inflation. Organizers also called for the equalization of minimum pensions with the minimum wage, the reduction of the gender pension gap, and the removal of certain reduction coefficients for early retirement.

The issue has become a central political debate. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has accused the opposition Popular Party (PP) of questioning the mechanism that links pension increases to inflation. Conversely, PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo has pledged to maintain inflation-linked increases if his party wins the upcoming election.