We're a bit miffed to be honest

Meanwhile, in Andalucia...

"we should not and will not pay"

These two photos were taken at a protest in mid-October.

"It's not a crisis, it's a rip-off"Also yer man's face right under the sign, hilarious.

Spain is angry. I think they're angry at the government. They're also angry at the banks.  Basically it's like Ireland, but the Spanish passion makes everything more exciting, not to mention unavoidable whenever you leave the house. In any case, times are hard for an awful lot of people, over a quarter of Spain's labour force are unemployed and the rate is even higher in the southern community of Andalucia where Sevilla is located.  Since I've lived here I've witnessed quite a few protests about austerity and cutbacks, as well as some strikes, most notably the general strike across Spain of the 14th of November, which protested the measures the government is taking to control Spain's debt.  I won't pretend to be well informed enough to offer an opinion on what should be done, if I did someone would probably throw something at me. I am not well versed in economic matters anyway and it's particularly difficult to keep up to date with global news lately. I find on news websites that I'm often distracted by the "fun" stories, or drawn away from relatively dry economics by... well, anything else.

apologies for the dreadful phone photography

The economic downturn is evident in many areas, a large proportion of the people begging on the streets hold signs claiming to be in such straits due to losing their job in the Crisis. There are also large numbers of homeless in Seville, this is much more evident at around 9 at night when you see people setting out their sleeping bags for the night in doorways, some taking shelter in the entryways of closed down banks. Like a great deal of people across Europe the Spanish feel let down by their government and cheated by their banks, and dissatisfied with the solutions being offered for their problems. They are sick of the cutbacks and austerity measures, so they are taking to the streets. And they don't mince their words.

"thieves" next to an ATM

Along with this I have also seen slogans like "burn your bank" spray painted on walls. All in all, the anti-government and anti-bank sentiment, while not necessarily more evident than in Ireland, seems to be far more... angry. Ireland is angry too of course, but I find we're more bitter and weary (too used to this kind of nonsense) and our dark sense of humour is getting us through without too much violence. However, as this mannequin wearing a trade union badge shows, the Spaniards can have a laugh about their problems too.

Look at how topical I'm being.

viva la resistancia