Madrilenians hold anti-corruption rally

Thousands of people have held a demonstration in Madrid against corruption and lack of democracy in Spain, Press TV reports.

The protest was held on Saturday at the Puerta del Sol square in the capital, where protesters chanted œOut Mafia, hello democracy.”

œWe want a constitutional process because the democratic reality that exists here means that the poor people starve to death while the rich do business,” said one protester.

A few thousand of demonstrators also marched through the capital to the main headquarters of the ruling People™s Party (PP). The protesters demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Rajoy™s conservative party came under fire after Spain™s daily El Mundo on June 9 published excerpts from the ledger entries of a secret slush fund run by the People™s Party, implicating the prime minister and other senior party members in a corruption scandal.

According to the report, Rajoy received illegal payments including an total of 42,000 euros (about $53,700) in 1997, and two payments of 12,600 euros (about $16,110) in 1998.

Former PP treasurer and senator Luis Barcenas confirmed the authenticity of the ledgers, saying that he had also handed Rajoy 25,000 euros ($33,000) in cash in 2010.

Spain has also been hit by another recent scandal. On October 4, 53 people, including former top officials in the city of Marbella, were convicted in the country™s biggest ever corruption trials.

The convicted included ex-urban planning advisor Juan Antonio Roca, who was sentenced to an 11-year prison term and ordered to pay a fine of 240 million euros ($326 million) for accepting bribes in exchange for building permits.

CAH/HSN/HMV

Copyright: Press TV