Thousands of demonstrators marched through Madrid, moving from Atocha Square to Cibeles Square. The protesters, who held a large banner with the slogan 'We defend public education, we defend the future,' were dressed in green T-shirts demanding 'public education for all, for everyone' and displayed placards against cuts and against the Mayor of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
Furthermore, activists demanded a reduction in school hours and the creation of smaller classes, according to an EFE agency report. This protest was organized by the platform Asamblea Menos Lectivas together with major trade unions and sector organizations.
It is a prelude to an indefinitely postponed strike, the goal of which is to demand better wages and working conditions for teachers, a reduction in workload and class size, as well as increased resources to eliminate segregation and promote diversity.
The protest manifesto emphasized that teachers and families have 'endured policies that worsen the public education system of Madrid' and have exacerbated their working conditions 'for too long.' The manifesto also stated: 'We are here because we are a united and organized educational community, ready to defend the public education system of Madrid, and we want to loudly declare that we will firmly uphold our list of demands and fight for each one.'
Before the march began, Podemos' Secretary General, Ione Belarra, stated that protests, strikes, and camps are 'a way to achieve everything necessary,' and therefore noted that her party would participate, encourage, and mobilize in support of necessary social changes.
The education protest coincided with an action organized in Puerta del Sol square, where demands were made for measures to stop evictions and abuses by developers.
According to Belarra, such mobilizations 'can change everything because people realized that all social transformations, all big changes' happened when people mobilized and organized. She stated: 'If we want public education, then an indefinitely postponed teachers' strike; if we want decent housing, we organize camps.'