video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Hundreds of angry Spanish miners who had walked for 19 days across the country to protest against government cuts were welcomed by jubilant crowds in the heart of the capital city Madrid on Tuesday night (July 10). They are demanding the government reverse plans to slash subsidies in the coal sector. Their numbers swelled from a few hundred to thousands as supporters arrived to link arms with them. They gathered on the eve of a planned parliamentary address by Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy, who is widely expected to announce further austerity measures. Miners fear a drastic cut in their subsidies will eventually lead to pit closures and add thousands more to Spain's unemployed which already exceeds four million nationwide. Euro zone finance ministers have agreed a rescue package of up to 100 billion euros ($123 billion) for Spanish banks devastated by a burst housing bubble. That will make Spain the fourth euro zone nation to receive emergency aid in the debt crisis.