Spain's pensioners take to the streets
Thousands of pensioners have taken to the streets in several Spanish cities. They demand an increase in their pensions in line with inflation, so that their buying power will not suffer. The Spanish media share their outrage.
Today's greatest challenge
The demonstration shows just how important a functioning pension system is, El Mundo comments:
“The first recipient of the message must be the government, which for too long has nourished this outbreak of dissatisfaction with attempts at conciliation and short-term solutions. ... Rajoy should ask himself whether his recent statement that people should take out private pension policies was a good idea, or if it didn't trigger the current unrest. ... Maintaining a sustainable pension system is now Spain's greatest challenge, because it's closely tied up with everything else: the demographic crisis, depopulation, unemployment and insecure job conditions. An extremely complex problem that can't be solved with demagogic announcements or outdated slogans.”
The retirees are right
ABC tells the government to take the pensioners' demands seriously:
“The economic situation calls for pensions to be raised by more than the legal minimum, especially bearing in mind the rise in inflation after prices fell in the crisis. Many pensioners are still feeding entire families. The government should remember how many of their voters fall into this demographic. ... The parties need to roll up their sleeves and launch reforms that make the model sustainable long-term. The strength of the economy means we can afford a major hike in pensions even now.”