Portuguese Army Joins Protests Against Austerity (PHOTOS)

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Thousands of soldiers in civilian dress have marched through Lisbon in protest of the austerity program that's part and parcel of the country's 2013 budget. An estimated 10,000 active and retired military personnel rallied against the "unjustified cutbacks," calling for President Anibal Cavaco Silva to veto the controversial austerity budget adopted by the center-right government. The quiet march carried banners calling to respect the military and "national sovereignty." "We are getting cut after cut and there is no light at the end of the tunnel," one soldier told AFP. Some officers complained that their monthly wages have been cut as much as 25 per cent.

Besides focusing on the military problems, such as a decline in finances for maintenance and training, the march also targeted disagreements over cuts to the social sphere, as well as tax hikes. Portuguese military members gather in the central Restauradores Square (Independence Restoration Square) during a protest against the 2013 state budget draft in Lisbon November 10, 2012. (Reuters/Jose Manuel Ribeiro) A number of associations representing the military called on the country’s Constitutional Court to review the legality of next year's budget. In July, the court ruled against a finance law and told the government to revise the measure, which stripped bonuses from civil servants, arguing that it violated constitutionally-guaranteed rights to equal treatment. Activists hope for a similar outcome with the austerity budget.

Portuguese military members hold up red cards to protest against the 2013 state budget draft in Lisbon November 10, 2012. (Reuters/Jose Manuel Ribeiro) In 2011, Portugal received a €78-billion bailout package from the Troika – the group of creditors comprised of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Belt-tightening is needed to meet the creditors’ deficit threshold. Now Lisbon needs to lower its budget deficit to three per cent of GDP by 2014. As a result of the austerity measures, the economy is expected to shrink by three per cent in 2012, while unemployment is hanging around 15.7 per cent, according to Eurostat.

(Infowars)

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Portuguese PM resigns amid Financial collapse

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Portugal plummeted into fresh crisis Thursday after the prime minister quit following a showdown with parliament over his new austerity plan, increasing the likelihood Lisbon will seek a financial bailout. PM Jose Socrates tendered his resignation late Wednesday, saying he could not govern without support after all five opposition parties voted against his minority government's latest spending cuts and tax hikes. The austerity plan - the government's fourth in a year - was aimed at avoiding the need for an EU-IMF bailout to help Lisbon meet debt repayment obligations, a package similar to those granted fellow eurozone members Greece and Ireland last year. "This crisis will have very serious consequences in terms of the confidence Portugal needs to enjoy with institutions and financial markets", Socrates said after presenting his resignation to President Anibal Cavaco Silva.

Portuguese PM Jose Socrates

The events in Portugal threaten to derail a two-day European Union summit that gets underway Thursday in Brussels that had been expected to finalise the bloc's response to a year-long eurozone debt crisis. German Zionist pro IMF Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday she regretted that parliament had rejected Socrates' austerity plan, describing it as "correct and courageous". "Now what?" said the headline on the front page of business daily Diario Economico, summing up the national mood. The Portuguese president will hold meetings with all political parties on Friday and the government would retain full powers at least until then, the president's office said in a statement. That leaves Socrates, in office since 2005, and his Socialist government in place with full powers for the duration of the EU summit although as an outgoing leader his authority is severely damaged. The president can now invite parties with representation in parliament to form a coalition government or, in the more likely scenario, he can dissolve parliament and call snap elections.

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