Almeria sees fewer organised demonstrations

PROTESTS and demonstrations in Almeria Province increased dramatically during the crisis years, but that trend is on the wane.
People took to the streets to protest about spending cuts, unemployment, evictions, changes in the education system and law reforms.
In 2008, when the economic crisis began there were roughly 100 demonstrations, with more each year until 2013 when there were 510, according to Interior ministry figures. Thirteen more were banned, either for not giving sufficient warning or for safety reasons, although some subsequently took place.
In 2014 the number of demonstrations in Almeria began to fall, the government revealed, and last year’s 400 protests, most of them in Almeria City, were 20 per cent below 2013’s.
There were 10,300 demonstrations in Andalucia, more than in any other Spanish region and well ahead of Madrid, which followed with 4,300 protests in 2014.
Almeria is considered the least “belligerent” of Andalucia’s eight provinces and it is the only one where employment is not the principal motive for public protests. Instead, recent changes to Spain’s Penal Code and other legal reforms have been the principal triggers for public demonstrations.