Bar, restaurant and nightclub owners took to the streets in Malaga on Tuesday to call for a rescue plan to save entire sector.
Around five hundred people joined the protest march that made its way from the city hall to the regional government offices.
After the march the business owners read a manifesto calling for direct help to be able to survive for the duration of the restrictions, for the IVA (value added tax) to be reduced to four per cent for the sector and for their 'autónomo' social security payment to be eliminated during this crisis period.
Throughout the march, participants respected social distancing forming lines of four people. Some of their placards carried slogans referring to the increase of cases of contagion despite the closing down of nightlife; or complaining of "unfair restrictions with no scientific justification".
At the beginning of the march, the president of the association Mahos, Javier Frutos, explained that the situation is very complex for the sector and that without help many businesses could close down. He specified that currently 40% of hospitality establishments in the province are closed and that many will not pull up their shutters again.
The vice-president of the association Andalucía de Noche, Juan Rambla, stressed that for the nightclub and disco-bar sector the restrictions are much greater. He complained of a lack of solidarity from the authorities and said that the closure of clubs and bars had left a lot of workers unemployed.
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