An estimated 25,000 people joined a Madrid march for public pensions. The rally came a month before the 29 November election, amid accusations that the right could open the way to partial privatisation.
The route covered nearly two kilometres between Atocha and calle Alcalá. It passed the Museo del Prado before reaching plaza de Cibeles, under bright sunshine and without incident. The demonstration took place on Saturday, 24 October, and was organised by the Coordinadora Estatal por la Defensa del Sistema Público de Pensiones (COESPE). Its October mobilisation brings pensioners and supporters from across Spain to the capital.
The Delegación del Gobierno en Madrid estimated the turnout at 25,000, while COESPE put the number at 50,000. The marchers called for public pensions to be protected, pressing for increases tied to the real consumer-price index, including higher minimum pensions. They also demanded a 6% rise in 2027 and opposed privatisation, carrying slogans including “¡No se venden!” and “Gobierne quien gobierne, las pensiones se defienden”. Some participants said they feared a future reform could expose retirement income to private-sector gains or losses.
Public demonstrations have taken different forms across Spain. A separate account of an anti-Vox gathering in Maó appears in an earlier report.
Juan Fernández, a 38-year-old public administration employee from Sevilla, said he was uncertain about his future retirement and opposed reform that could lead to privatisation. Pilar, a 64-year-old early retiree who withheld her surname, argued that the trend was towards privatising public services. She also pointed to recent housing mobilisation among young people and called for public education and healthcare to be defended. The Madrid rally likewise connected pension security with housing affordability and wages, wider concerns for younger workers and public services.
The dispute centres on the pension uprating mechanism linked to inflation, in force since 1 January 2022. On Monday, opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said the Partido Popular would uprate pensions in accordance with the law if it wins the early legislative election on 29 November. Pedro Sánchez's socialist government accuses the PP of seeking reform by challenging that mechanism. The PP voted against the bill in late 2021, arguing that it would cost public finances too much. The disagreement over the framework has become a prominent issue in the run-up to the election.
In September, Spain paid nearly 6.8 million retirement pensions, with an average monthly benefit of €1,576, according to figures from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. Across the broader contributory system, which also covers widowhood and permanent-disability benefits, about 10.5 million pensions were paid to roughly 9.5 million pensioners. The average payment across that wider category was €1,374.6 per month.
