With subsidies to Spain's coal industry about to be yanked, striking workers are ratcheting up the pressure on the government and clashing violently with police.
Authorities have resorted to rubber bullets and tear gas while the strikers are setting up barricades on roads and railways. Coal miners were also filmed firing homemade rockets to shut down a road.
There have also been wide scale protests in towns near the coal mining region.
Due to austerity measures, Spain is reigning in spending to meet debt obligations and keep the country from sliding out of the eurozone. The country has roughly halved the subsidies for the industry, reducing annual payouts from $375 million to $137 million.
A recent bank bail-out angered workers who feel their industry is bearing the brunt of the cuts.
Spanish miners fire rockets to cut off a highway.
Rioting uploaded by @redvamas
Coal miners beginning a march in Leon, uploaded by @terguti
More marchers by @bierzo5
