While 60,000 people gathering is still relatively small, it's still large enough. What is even more interesting is that the protesters are fed up with the same old political parties and the same old politicians. That is something everyone can relate to including in the US. How many people really are that excited about either the Democrats or the Republicans? On the right we saw the Teabaggers rise (and now fall) and on the left, there's a lot of discontent with the Democrats on a number of issues including the failed management of the financial industry, human rights, and the wars. The Guardian:
Cynical and ingenuous by turns, the Madrid protesters and those who refused to budge from the city squares have torn up the rule book of Spanish public politics. The heavyweights of old – political parties, trade unions and media commentators – are not wanted here.
"I was sacked when the Madrid regional government closed down a women's centre last year when it imposed cuts," explained Beatriz García as she bashed a small frying pan with a wooden spoon. "The unions didn't even bother to turn up."
The political parties were worse still, she said. "There is no renovation. There is nothing new or different, just two parties who take it in turn to govern because our electoral laws favour them."
