A march from Atocha to Puerta del Sol
Thousands of pensioners marched through central Madrid on Saturday, 24 October, from Atocha to Calle de Alcalá, then moved on toward Puerta del Sol. The march was called by the Coordinadora Estatal por la Defensa del Sistema Público de Pensiones (Coespe), and the Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas, a tenants' union federation, joined it. LaSexta put the start at 12:00. Participants came from different parts of Spain, some of them by train early that morning. The route ended close to the housing camp in Puerta del Sol, where protesters are demanding affordable housing.
The protest linked pensions with wages and housing, arguing that rising living costs are eating into household incomes. Banners read 'Subida de salarios y pensiones con IPC real' and 'Blindar pensiones públicas', calling for pensions revalued to real inflation and for public pensions to be protected.
Crowd figures diverge
The Government Delegation in Madrid counted 25,000 people, while the organizers said 50,000 took part. LaSexta reported 40,000 as the organizers' figure, so the three numbers remain unreconciled and each is attributed to its source. Damián Rodríguez, the national spokesman for Coespe, voiced concern about the future of pensions ahead of the general election on 29 November.
Pensions are worth less every day compared with the cost of living, and it shows in our homes.
Pensions, inflation and the minimum pension
Protesters demand a 6% rise in pensions for 2027, revaluation in line with the real consumer price index (IPC), and a minimum pension equal to the net SMI, set at 1,221 euros a month. The law ties the annual update to the average CPI of the previous twelve months, but the increase is applied in January, and inflation is at 4.9%. The El Confidencial report said the pension does not let 51.3% of recipients reach the end of the month. Coespe also wants the compensatory payment restored at the end of each year, and a pending audit of the Social Security accounts carried out.
The organization also asks for an end to the penalties on early retirees with more than 40 years of contributions, a group it estimates at 900,000 people. Encarna González, a Coespe spokeswoman and a 75-year-old former city council worker from Málaga, explained the demand and the broader case for the system.
When we defend this pension system, what we are doing is defending the future.
Pensions in the election campaign
Ada Colau, former mayor of Barcelona and candidate of the Frente Amplio coalition for the Presidency of the Government, said 4.6 million pensioners receive less than the SMI, and that 2 million of them get 900 euros a month. She said women make up the group with the lowest pensions. Her proposals include linking minimum pensions to the SMI and setting the retirement age at 65.
If the minimum wage goes up, pensions should rise at the same pace, and none should fall below it.
Pablo Bustinduy, minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda and campaign spokesman for Frente Amplio, wrote on X that the right wants to cut and privatize future benefits. He said 60% of retirement pensions are below 1,500 euros a month and 66% of widow's pensions are below 1,000 euros. Emilio Delgado, Frente Amplio's lead candidate in Madrid, also joined the march alongside Colau and Bustinduy.
In Piélagos, Cantabria, the PP regional president María José Sáenz de Buruaga said pensions are not in danger and are "guaranteed and revalued, whoever governs". She rejected opposition criticism of the system.