Many Spaniards get restless. The corona coercive measures simply take a long time. And without the money from foreign tourists, the economic crisis will only get worse. But while rights are organizing car parades, the government remains tough.
Madrid (dpa) - The Corona hotspot Spain does not want to open its borders to foreign tourists until July. "As of July, the reception of foreign tourists will resume under secure conditions," Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a speech to the nation on Saturday.
"We will guarantee that the tourists will not take any risks and that they will not pose any risks to us," said the socialist politician.
With his announcement, Sánchez dashed hopes of an earlier resumption of tourism. These had grown recently after another Corona hotspot, Italy, announced the opening of the border to tourists on June 3.
The pressure from entrepreneurs and the conservative opposition had recently increased. They accuse Sánchez of ruining the fourth largest economy in the euro zone with measures to curb the pandemic. On Saturday, thousands also followed the call by the right-wing populist party Vox to protest against the strict regulations. At rallies in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities, they also demanded Sánchez's resignation.
Sanchez rejected the allegations on Saturday, saying that there was "no conflict between health and business". "From now on, Spanish tourism will have two seals of approval: ecological sustainability and sanitary safety," he said. Government officials had previously dampened hopes of soon opening the border. Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos said: "We cannot allow foreigners to enter while we are still putting the Spanish population on a block."
Many demonstrators came together in car parades on Saturday. There were loud horn concerts and many kept shouting "Viva España!". Spanish flags were waving everywhere and slogans like "Freedom, Freedom, Freedom!" and "Resignation Sánchez!" chanted. Hundreds of cars and motorcycles were on the road in Madrid. Vox boss Santiago Abascal headed the open bus. In addition, many demonstrators came on foot. They did not comply with the spacing rules and, according to media estimates, filled several main cores over a distance of two kilometers in the center.
Vox is the third largest parliamentary group in the Spanish parliament. It accuses the left government of using the corona rules to "ruin" the country and also restrict the freedoms of the almost 47 million citizens. The largest opposition party, the conservative Partido Popular (PP), also makes these allegations, but did not call on its supporters to take part in the rallies. PP Vice Secretary Ana Beltrán said, however, that peaceful protests against the government are supported "because people are fed up".
Spain has started to gradually and cautiously ease the lockdown. However, at the government's request, Parliament recently extended the emergency, which had been in effect since mid-March, to June 6. A further extension of at least two weeks is being considered, said Sánchez. The government's four-phase de-escalation plan is not scheduled to go until the end of June. Only then will the Spaniards be allowed to leave their province according to plans.
With more than 230,000 cases of infection and over 28,000 deaths, Spain is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. Sánchez emphasized several times that the tough measures are responsible for the fact that the numbers have been getting better and better for weeks.