ATHENS/MADRID — Demonstrators clashed with police on the streets of Athens and Madrid on Wednesday in an upsurge of popular anger at new austerity measures being imposed on two of the euro zone's most vulnerable economies. In some of the most violent confrontations, Greek police fired tear gas at hooded rioters hurling petrol bombs as thousands joined the country's biggest protest in more than a year. The unrest erupted after nearly 70,000 people marched to the Greek parliament chanting “EU, IMF Out!” on the day of a general strike against further cuts demanded by foreign lenders. “We can't take it anymore - we are bleeding. We can't raise our children like this,” said Dina Kokou, a 54-year-old teacher and mother of four who lives on 1,000 euros ($1,250) a month. In Madrid, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced violence on the streets of the capital and growing talk of secession in Catalonia as he moves cautiously closer to asking Europe for a bailout, aware that such an action has cost other European leaders their jobs. The Spanish government's drive to rein in regional overspending as part of its austerity measures has prompted a flare-up of independence fervor in Catalonia, the wealthy northeastern region that generates one-fifth of Spain's economic output. Catalonia needs a 5 billion-euro bailout from Madrid to meet debt payments this year, but Catalans believe they bear an unfairly large share of the country's tax burden. Artur Mas, the conservative president of Catalonia, announced on Tuesday he would hold early elections in November after Rajoy rebuffed his call for more tax autonomy. On Wednesday Mas took things further, saying Catalonia should also hold a referendum on independence, which the central government says would be unconstitutional. With Rajoy under new pressure from the Catalans, his fellow euro zone struggler, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, also faced a major test, in the shape of a 24-hour strike called by the country's two biggest unions. Ships stayed in port, museums and monuments were shut and air traffic controllers walked off the job. Trains and flights were suspended, public offices and shops were shut, and hospitals provided a reduced service. — Reuters
