Greba Orokorra

Yesterday marked the second general strike in the Basque Country this year. It was called by a consortium of local unions. Although the news said that "no more than 70%" of employees chose to strike, it sure felt like everyone was out in the street. This demonstration in Donosti coincided with the annual international film festival, which was probably kind of a shock to the visitors. There were calls to reign in some of the budget cuts, (closed) banks were treated to accusations of "thieves! thieves!" There were rousing speeches by different union representatives in Basque and Spanish. There were blunt calls for independence, and singing. The protesters remained pretty focused, although some people protested in their underpants, and there were a few keffiyeh kids-by which I mean folks who display all their political sentiments at once, like a fashion of sorts. Since everything was closed, there were ample opportunities to socialize in the park and wander the 10 kilometers or so back over the hills to our apartment.