Reply #62: Spain PM mum on breaking up pre-election protests

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_SPAIN_ELECTIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-20-09-38-43

MADRID (AP) -- Spain's prime minister avoided saying Friday if he'll order police to break up crowds if they attend banned election-eve protests, part of a snowballing movement that has riveted the country.

The national electoral commission issued the ban Thursday night as thousands of mainly young people demonstrated for a fourth straight night in central Madrid and dozens of other Spanish cities over their bleak economic future.

They are angry over the country's economic crisis and at political parties they see as inept, corrupt and indifferent to everyday people struggling to get by.

Municipal and regional elections are scheduled for Sunday, and the protesters have said they will rally on Saturday and beyond.