Riots in spain

What Sasha said. The protests this week have been a lead up to today, the 15th of May, considered to be the one year anniversary of the anti-austerity movement in Spain.
Spain is in the middle of a great depression. Unemployment is officially at 25%, youth unemployment hovers around 50% - 60%. No matter when you go to Spain this year, you will likely encounter protests and strikes as a result. If that concerns you, don't go to Spain - or Italy, Greece or Portugal, for that matter. Personally, I wouldn't let it affect your travel plans.

We had a small riot in downtown Seattle 2 weeks ago, may 1. They were smashing windows, smashing cars, threw a small smoke/firebomb. The Spain protests are not like that. The 15 May protestors ("the indignants") have been remarkably peaceful and well disciplined. It's the police I would be concerned about. But I would love to be there and be part of these historic events.

Protest demonstrations are not necessarily riots.

ruta, I also agree with Sasha. I wouldn't let the prospect of protest marches disrupt my travel plans. Even if marches do occur while you're there, these usually take place in one part of the city so they're easy to avoid. They're usually peaceful for the most part, and usually have a "limited duration". I was in Greece in 2010 when "riots" were occurring at times, and never had any problems at all. On that same trip, I was also in the middle of some "rowdy situations" involving inebriated soccer fans and copious quantities of beer in several cities (the World Cup as on at the time), and again had no problems. Happy travels!

There were supposed to be riots when we arrived in Spain, the first weekend in April. The big labor unions had called for a general strike. We didn't see anything and, as far as I could tell, no public transport was disrupted. We did see talk of fifty arrests on the news and some damage to shops (but none that we visited, again, as far as I could tell). Later, as it approached May 1st, there was talk of more mass demonstrations and strikes. We did see a GLBT protest, but it was small and really not a big deal. I was more worried about getting pickpocketed in the crowded street than getting dragged into bedlum. The major federal offices in Madrid had stepped up security dramatically. There was a very visible presence of police and troops guarding entrances.