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                     Portuguese Protest Austerity Measures

   by VOA News

   Demonstrators started a fire outside the Portuguese parliament in
   Lisbon Monday night, protesting government plans to increase austerity
   measures.
   The government led by Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho announced a
   budget plan for next year that includes sharp tax increases, pension
   cuts and other saving measures.
   Protesters gathered outside the National Assembly lit a huge model of a
   data stick, representing all the new budget data.

   The draft budget for 2013 is one of the harshest in Portugal's recent
   history and could take away the equivalent of a month's wages for many
   workers.

   The government says the measures are needed to cut the national debt as
   Portugal strives to restore its financial health.  Critics say the
   measures will choke the economy.

   Last year, Portugal received more than $100 billion in a rescue package
   from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to avert
   bankruptcy.
   Portugal's largest union - the General Confederation of Portuguese
   Workers - has announced a general strike against austerity for November
   14.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/portuguese-protest-austerity-measures
   /1527183.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/portuguese-protest-austerity-measures/1527183.html