In Spain, demonstrations turn violent

Spanish riot police officers stand guard during a protest, following acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's negotiations for granting an amnesty to people involved with Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid, in Madrid, Spain, November 7, 2023.
Spanish riot police officers stand guard during a protest, following acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's negotiations for granting an amnesty to people involved with Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid, in Madrid, Spain, November 7, 2023.
REUTERS/Susana Vera

Right-wing protests against Spain’s governing Socialist Party erupted in violence this week as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez moved closer to a deal that would provide Catalan separatists with amnesty in exchange for providing him with the backing he needs to form a new coalition government and avoid fresh elections. Rioting in Madrid on Tuesday night injured 29 police officers and 10 demonstrators.

In July, the conservative People’s Party won the most votes in national elections, but party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo fell short in September of attracting enough coalition partners to form a government. Sánchez now appears on the verge of forming a center-left coalition that depends on support from the pro-independence Together for Catalonia and the Catalan Republican Left. In exchange for their support, they’ve demanded amnesty for several hundred Catalan politicians and activists in legal trouble following a failed drive in 2017 for Catalan secession from Spain.

Spain’s right-wing opposition accuses Sánchez of flip-flopping on the question of amnesty, which he once called “unconstitutional,” and blames him for the resulting violence, which looks likely to continue.

More from GZERO Media

An infographic of the changes to the US voting system under Trump's executive order
Paige Fusco

Officials from the Democratic Party in 19 states have filed a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s efforts to alter the national voting process via an executive order entitled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” which they argue infringes upon states’ constitutional rights to manage their elections.

People protest Ljubljana's Mayor Zoran Jankovic's support of Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic near the Serbian embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on March 5, 2025.
REUTERS/Borut Zivulovic

After months of historic protests, Serbia’s embattled president, Aleksandar Vučić, is now up against something particularly formidable: the clock.

A general view outside Exchange Square in Hong Kong's financial district. Asian stock markets have plummeted amid growing fears of a global trade war, as Donald Trump described his tariffs as ''medicine'' and showed no indication of backing down.
ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

In the latest twist of the United States’ trade war with China and the world, US President Donald Trump declared Monday that he would impose an additional 50% levy on Chinese imports on April 9 if Beijing refuses to drop its retaliatory tariff.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani attends a press briefing in Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2025.
Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

In response to warnings from US officials of looming air attacks by US forces, the leaders of four of the largest Iran-backed militia groups operating in Iraq told Reuters on Monday that they were prepared to surrender their weapons to Iraqi government authorities.

Demonstrators rally against President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk during a Hands Off! protest on the Washington Monument grounds in Washington, DC, on April 5, 2025.
REUTERS/Tierney L Cross

US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have been met with anger, outrage, and disbelief in every corner of the world – including islands inhabited solely by penguins. At last count, over 50 countries want to talk trade with Washington, while in the US, opposition to Trump’s presidency is getting organized. Here’s a look at this weekend’s reactions.

President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 4, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. It will be his second such visit since Trump’s inauguration in January, and it comes after the president’s impromptu invitation last Thursday, when the two men spoke by phone about new US tariffs. They are expected to discuss those – and a whole lot more.