250,000 rally in Madrid to demand state pension guarantees

Over 250,000 people gathered in Madrid on Saturday to demand protection for Spain's state pension system, a hot topic in the upcoming parliamentary election next month. The peaceful demonstration took place from Atocha train station to the city's main shopping avenue, Gran Via, and was watched by tourists. Madrid authorities reported approximately 250,000 participants, many of whom carried banners demanding protection and guarantee for their pensions.

Among the rally attendees was Juan Fernandez, a civil servant in Seville who expressed concerns about the future of his pension and was against any privatization of the system. He cautioned that privatization would link pension values to stock market prices, potentially creating winners and losers.

The opposition Popular Party (PP) has been vocal in criticizing the current pension system, with one MP predicting it would "collapse" and calling for changes. However, PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo stated last week that his party would maintain annual inflation-linked pension increases if they won the election on November 29th. The government has accused the PP of questioning the mechanism linking pension increases to inflation, which has been in place since 2022.

As of September, around 6.8 million Spaniards received state pensions, with an average monthly payout of €1,576 (US$1,765), according to the social security ministry.