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Thousands in Madrid Protest Bush Visit
Thousands of Spaniards marched peacefully through downtown Madrid on Sunday to protest the upcoming visit of President Bush.
Demonstrators carried signs saying ``Bush Go Home'' and criticized the president's stance on the death penalty, the environment and trade, as they marched from Madrid's Plaza de Espana to the Puerta del Sol square.
Bush arrives Tuesday in the Spanish capital for talks with conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on the initial stop of his first major overseas trip.
The six-day, five-nation tour will put Bush face to face with European leaders critical of his policies on missile defense, trade and the environment.
In Spain, unions, anti-globalization and anti-death penalty groups have planned several days of protests.
Spanish foreign minister Josep Pique said Sunday he understood the desire to protest against capital punishment during Bush's visit because ``unfortunately in American society a majority is still in favor of the death penalty.''
Police estimated more than 2,500 people attended the rally, filling the four-lane Gran Via boulevard for about an hour. A helicopter hovered overhead.
At the Puerta del Sol, a banner stretched across the speaker's platform said: ``No to interventionism. No to neoliberal globalization. No to the destruction of the climate.''
``The visit of Bush represents the evil image of the Empire,'' union leader Adolfo Jimenez told the crowd.
``We cannot but condemn the cooperation of the Spanish government with the United States'' by allowing American troops on Spanish bases, he added. Some 3,500 Americans are stationed on military bases in Spain.
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