250,000 people march in Madrid to demand protection of national pension system

(Central News Agency, Madrid, comprehensive foreign news report on the 24th) Spanish authorities said that about 250,000 people marched in the center of Madrid today to demand the protection of Spain’s national pension system. Pensions are one of the hot topics in next month's congressional election.

Agence France-Presse reported that the rally came at a time when the sustainability of Spain's pension system and the cost of living have become the focus of political debate. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party accused the right of planning to weaken pension increases linked to inflation.

Demonstrators marched peacefully from Madrid's Atocha train station to Gran Via, the main shopping thoroughfare, attracting the attention of many tourists along the way.

Madrid authorities told AFP that about 250,000 people participated, many of whom held slogans such as "Protect and secure our pensions."

Juan Fernandez, a 38-year-old civil servant from the southern city of Seville, said he was "uncertain" whether he would receive a pension in the future. He opposed any idea of ​​privatizing the system.

Pilar, 64, who is retiring, declined to give his last name. "Pension pensions should be sacrosanct," she told AFP. She decried the "tendency to privatize everything" and said she was comforted by recent protests over the cost of living and inadequate protections for renters.

"I think the housing crisis has awakened the younger generation," Piller said. She urged Spanish people to "defend everything we have worked for in the past, not just pensions, but also public services such as health care and education."

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, chairman of the opposition right-wing Popular Party, said on the 19th that if he wins the general election on November 29 and becomes prime minister, his pension will be adjusted every year according to rising prices.

Sanchez accused the PPP of questioning the pension-inflation-linked increase mechanism since 2022 because the party had opposed relevant legislation in Congress.