Madrid ( CNN ) -- Chanting `` they do n't represent us , '' tens of thousands in Madrid railed early Sunday against Spain 's government and austerity cuts -- venting their anger on the first anniversary of the so-called May 15 protest movement . The government earlier had given a 10 p.m. ( 4 p.m . ET ) Saturday deadline for the crowd in the central Puerta del Sol plaza to disperse . Yet while their numbers appeared to thin somewhat by early Sunday , they remained a loud and vibrant presence in the square -- as a large number of police , stationed at a nearby government building and along side streets , looked on and let them be . Throngs of like-minded demonstrators also gathered over the weekend in Barcelona and about 80 other cities around Spain . The coordinated events marked the return of the `` indignados '' -- or the outraged , as the protesters became known -- who led Europe 's first serious and significant anti-cuts and anti-austerity grassroots movement . Similar demonstrations decrying governments ' attempts to get their budgets in order , sometimes by slashing public funding , later emerged elsewhere around Europe . In Madrid this weekend , marchers from the north , south , east and west descended on Puerta del Sol plaza on Saturday evening . For hours , demonstrators shouted , jumped , sang and waved white handkerchiefs . Their most dramatic moment , though , may have been their quietest : when they held their hands aloft , silently , in a `` silent shout '' before erupting in cheers . If and when the crowd dissipates early Sunday , they are expected to return . The government has OK 'd three more days of protests in Madrid , meaning similar scenes could play out into the middle of the week . The number of demonstrators evident in Madrid over the weekend were strong , though they appeared to be slightly fewer than those who had gathered in the same spot -- in what 's known as ground zero of the movement -- a year earlier . Back then , protesters encamped in Madrid and other cities made their voices heard . The tens of thousands of people who turned out in the initial days grew to an estimated 6 million protesters over the following months , in a nation of 46 million people . Since then , Occupy camps around the world have come and gone . The new protests organized by the May 15 movement are different in at least one key respect : a new conservative government is now in control , having taken over in December . Spain 's economic crisis also has worsened since last year . The nation has slipped back into a recession , the unemployment rate has risen to 24 % overall and more than 50 % for those under age 25 , and the government has enacted billions of dollars in austerity cuts , along with some tax hikes , to reduce the budget deficit . `` We are really tired of this situation , '' said Madrid protester Paola Alvarado , a purchasing agent . `` And the new government is the same . They steal our money and give it to the banks . '' Spain 's austerity protests have been largely peaceful to date , with only occasional clashes between protesters and police , and some arrests in cities like Barcelona and Valencia . And prior the latest protests , the new government -- which has vowed to maintain order and prevent a repetition of encampments in Madrid and beyond -- urged police commanders to use `` common sense '' as to how they dealt with the latest round of public dissent . In recent months , Spanish trade unions , traditionally the protest leaders , have been at the forefront of demonstrations against the austerity cuts and labor market reforms , with the May 15 movement barely visible . `` Maybe the most important thing is it awakened a consciousness , beyond concrete changes , to make historic change possible , '' said Jon Aguirre Such , who was a movement spokesman a year ago but now spends more time on his architectural cooperative for urban planning . `` I think everyone who took part in the May 15 movement made history . They can take away from us many things , but not our memory and our dream , '' Aguirre said . The original May 15 movement is credited with helping stop dozens of housing evictions . Activists pressured bank and court officials to delay or stop foreclosures on delinquent mortgages . But Ignacio Urquiza , a sociologist who has studied the movement for the left-leaning Fundacion Alternativas , said there has been little big-picture change as to government policies and operations . `` The demonstrations did n't do more than expose -- for a brief time -- some issues . But Spain 's economic crisis and political system have not changed . They are the same as last year , '' he said .
NEW : Thousands in Madrid 's Puerta del Sol plaza do a `` silent shout '' to protest cuts . NEW : `` The new government is the same , '' a woman says , claiming people are fed up . Similar rallies are held in Barcelona and other cities around Spain . The protests coincide with the anniversary of the launch of the May 15 movement .