In Portugal, thousands of protesters gathered outside the country’s parliament Tuesday as lawmakers gave final approval to an austerity budget that includes the biggest tax hikes in modern history as part of a bid to meet the terms of an international bailout. The budget vote was widely seen as ensuring a third year of economic recession for the hard-hit nation. Portugal’s unemployment rate has reached a record 15.8 percent and is expected to climb even higher. Filmmaker Raquel Ferreira condemned the austerity budget.

Raquel Ferreira: “I think this state budget is a crime because it is a budget that will kill what remains of the democracy in this country. It will threaten our basic rights, including education, health, support for the most vulnerable, and it will violate all of our constitutional principles. We are talking the basics here. Many children in Portugal go hungry. We are seeing the greatest social decline ever. So, for that reason, this budget is a budget against the people. It is a budget against democracy. And we are here to say that this cannot be, this is not the way.”