Spain to reopen to foreign tourists from July as protesters urge PM to quit over coronavirus lockdown
- Far-right Vox party says the government was ‘directly responsible for the worst management of this crisis on the entire planet’
- Spain’s top flight La Liga soccer will kick off again in June
Pedro Sanchez’s dual announcements coincided with calls for his resignation over the lockdown’s impact on jobs and the economy from the far-right Vox party, which called a protest through cities across Spain that drew thousands of horn-blaring cars and motorbikes.
“From July, foreign tourism will resume in safe conditions. We will guarantee tourists will not take any risks and will not bring us any risks,” Sanchez told a televised news conference, without giving further details.
Close to a million jobs were lost just in March, when the lockdown began, and the Bank of Spain has forecast the economy will contract by up to 12 per cent this year.
Sanchez also said that another national money-spinner, top flight La Liga soccer, would resume on June 8.
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Saturday’s protesters called on him and Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias – head of left-wing Podemos, the junior partner in Socialist Sanchez’s coalition – to resign over their handling of the crisis and, in particular, the economic fallout.
“It is time to make a big noise against the government of unemployment and misery that has abandoned our self-employed and workers,” Vox said.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal, who was leading the procession in Madrid, made a speech that was broadcast on EsRadio so people could listen in their cars.
He said the government was “directly responsible for the worst management of this crisis on the entire planet.”
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The largest opposition party, the conservative People’s Party (PP), has also made similar allegations, but did not call on its supporters to take part in Saturday’s rally.
PP Deputy Secretary Ana Beltran said, however, that the party supports peaceful protests against the government “because people are fed up.”
Hundreds of cars and motorcycles, but also a large number of demonstrators who were on foot and did not comply with the coronavirus distancing rules, filled several main thoroughfares in the centre of Madrid over a distance of around 2 kilometres, according to media estimates.
There were protests, albeit on a smaller scale, in cities such as Barcelona, Seville and Valencia.
The government says the lockdown has allowed it to get the pandemic under control.
Restrictions on movement are being gradually eased, though residents of Madrid and Barcelona, both national epicentres of the virus, have remained in lockdown.
Both cities will loosen their curbs from Monday, allowing outdoor dining and gatherings of up to 10 people.
Spain has documented more than 28,600 deaths from Covid-19 and more than 230,000 cases, and Sanchez said there would be a 10-day period of national mourning for victims starting on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by dpa
