Tens of thousands of demonstrators have pounded the streets of Madrid, calling for the abolition of Spain’s monarchy. The march, on Sunday, was attended by leaders from the left-wing populist party Podemos, as well as pro-Palestinian supporters.
Organisers said as many as 30,000 people attended the rally, while police authorities estimated just 4,000 turned up.
The demonstration came just three days before the nation marks the tenth anniversary of the ascent to the Spanish throne of Felipe VI, after the abdication of his father Juan Carlos I.
Under the banner “Ten Years is enough”, protesters marched along a route that ended in Puerta del Sol. A manifesto calling for a Spanish Republic was read out by the political scientists Irene Zugasti and the scientist Benito Rabal.
“We want to shout out loud that ten years are enough,” they told a cheering crowd.
“Until Felipe VI is remembered in history books as Felipe, the last, we encourage you to continue working every day for the Republic and we announce that we will return to the streets as many years as it is necessary to claim that this is the last anniversary of the Monarchy.”
The manifesto was endorsed by famous Spanish actors including Carlos Bardem, Alberto San Juan and Guillermo Toledo.
Public support for the monarchy remains relatively high, despite the corruption scandals of the past. A survey carried out by electomania.es found that almost 59 percent of those polled want the monarchy to stay.
Around 33 percent were in favour of a Republic, while 8.6 percent said they had no preference. The monarchy was rocked by corruption allegations involving Juan Carlos I, who stepped down from the throne in 2014.
The former King was placed under investigation in 2020 for his alleged role in a deal under which a Spanish consortium won a €6.7bn (£5.9bn) contract to build a high-speed rail line in Saudi Arabia.
Reports emerged suggesting Juan Carlos had received a $100m (€88m) payment from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in 2008, three years before the contract was awarded.
However, the investigations were eventually dropped, allowing the former monarch to return to Spain in 2022 from his self-imposed exile in the UAE to visit his son.