Spanish miners have been protesting for the last two months as the Spanish government failed to honour the agreement signed between the unions and the government according to which Spanish mining industry would be progressively dismantled until 2016, and a series of subsidies would be provided to help the miners find other modes of subsistence.

However, a couple of months ago the Spanish industry MP, Jose Manuel Soria, unilaterally (with the approval of the Spanish government) imposed 60% cuts in these subsidies. This is seen by miners as a clear sign that the government wants to close the mines now, very abruptly, without negotiation, leaving miners in a very vulnerable position as 60% cuts implies the death of the mining industry and the death of the economy of Asturias and the rest of mining regions in Spain which, directly or indirectly, depend on mining industry.