Madrid pension protests draw thousands ahead of Spain's snap elections

Thousands of demonstrators marched in central Madrid on Saturday to defend public pensions, one month before Spain's legislative elections, as the left accuses the right of planning reforms. Around 25,000 people, according to Madrid's prefecture, peacefully walked about two kilometers from Atocha station to Alcalá street, carrying signs reading "guaranteed pensions" and "protect them." Protesters expressed uncertainty about future retirement and opposition to privatization. The demonstration comes after opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo promised Monday to uphold pension revaluation if his Popular Party wins the November 29 snap elections. The socialist government accuses the PP of seeking to change the inflation-indexation mechanism, which the PP voted against in late 2021.