MADRID - Protests were seen in 57 different Spanish cities in demanding a referendum on the spending cuts introduced by the government of Mariano Rajoy.

The Social Council, an organization made up of over 150 different groups, including Spain's main labor unions, organized the protests.

The Social Council believes the cuts will lead to continued recession and even higher unemployment in a country where one in four workers is without a job.

"As well as being angry, the people are perplexed" by what was happening, said Ignacio Toxo, the leader of a union called Comisiones Obreras.

Around 70,000 took part in the march in downtown Madrid, where the acrtress Nuria Perez read the Social Council manifesto, which said "there is not a silent majority which you can talk about when it is convenient."