Thousands of protesters came out in the streets of Madrid yesterday to demand a referendum to abolish Spain s monarchy, just days after King Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son.
“Spain, tomorrow, will be republican,” they chanted, waving the red, purple and gold flags of the country s second republic, proclaimed in 1931 then overthrown eight years later by General Francisco Franco at the end of the country s catastrophic civil war.
It was only a few hours after the 76-year-old king announced his abdication on June 2 that a wave of republicanism spread across the country.
On Saturday, dozens of left-wing political parties and citizens organisations came together to demand “A referendum now!” on the future of the monarchy.
Street protests were held in several parts of Spain, including the Basque country and Valencia as well as the capital Madrid.
Forty-six-year-old Crown Prince Felipe is due to be coronated as the new king, probably on June 19, in a joint session of parliament whose members, both in the ruling party and in opposition, overwhelmingly support the monarchy.
