Tens of Thousands ‘March in Anger’ in Brussels

On March 1, Sunday, tens of thousands of Belgians participated in a “March of Anger’ in the capital city of Brussels. The march was called by the Workers Party of Belgium (PTB/PVDA) to demand that the federal government implement pro-worker policies. Some of these demands include a minimum pension of 1,500 euros per month, the imposition of a  millionaires tax, and an end of divisive forces in the country.

The PTB/PVDA reported that more than 10,000 people marched on Sunday through the streets of Brussels in ‘The Great Colère’. People from across economic and social sectors in Belgium, including teachers, doctors, students, the young and the old, descended to the capital to address a political elite that has been refusing to hear them. The march also comes as a response to the attempts by right-wing parties to sow divisions in the country.

Workers Party president Peter Mertens accused: “the problem is not our country. The problem is that we are led by a cast of politicians out of touch, increasingly arrogant, and who do not even realize it. These are politicians who say that there is no money for our pensions, nor for the care of the elderly or for the young, but who let big companies carry out a hold up of 172 billion euros against the state, by placing these billions in tax havens.”

“Politicians who work for big business and not for the people. Politicians are kissing Big Pharma, the diamond business and others, with laws like the penal transaction or custom tax benefits,” he added.

On January 28, thousands of workers in Belgium took to a national strike in defense of social security, on the call of socialist trade union General Confederation of Belgian Labor (ABVV/FGTB).