Protesting civil servants block the Avenidas in Palma

The protesters, massing in front of government offices in Avenida de Gabriel Alomar, voiced their rejection of a further swathe of cuts in public spending that has already been approved by Central Government.

Demonstrators, all dressed in black to reinforce the theme of what they perceive as “Black Friday” were waving banners urging drivers to sound their horns if they too opposed the cuts. There were various shouts from the protesters demanding that Spanish prime minister Marion Rajoy “return to them what was theirs by right.” Pedro Castro, a spokesman for City Council workers gave a very clear message during the protest to Palma's Mayor Mateo Isern. On Thursday, the Mayor had said that the cuts “were unjust but necessary.” Castro retorted yesterday that “if they were necessary, the cuts wouldn't be unjust.” Castro said “surely there are other measures the government can take without targeting civil servants.” Another spokesperson for City Council Workers, Cati Cortada, said that if the Mayor was not in agreement with the cuts, then he should resign. “Public services are necessary to the whole community and we reject any attempt to undermine our job security. Those who have got money should pay for the crisis,” she said.

Local Police were 15 minutes late in arriving at the protest scene where they made demonstrators change lanes every ten minutes to allow traffic to pass.