Anti-government protesters in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, took to the streets with banners and empty pots on Saturday, denouncing the country’s pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, and her policies. The demonstrators accused Sandu’s administration of driving the country to poverty. The protest was unofficially called the “march of the hungry” and “the march of the deceived pensioners.”
Videos show dozens of people marching through the streets of Chisinau with banners reading: “Thanks, Sandu, for poverty and hunger,” “Sandu, go away,” and “For Moldova without the EU.” People chanted slogans calling for the president to step down, and banged on pots with spoons, chanting, “empty pots are louder than words.”
The march was organized by the opposition movement ‘Victory of the Young’. Yuri Vitnyansky, the movement’s leader, told RIA Novosti that the protesters seek to draw attention to the low standard of living in the country in the run-up to the heating season.
“We are on the eve of the heating season, we are facing new challenges of high prices for energy and electricity. We understand that hard times are coming not only for socially vulnerable groups of the population, but also for literally every resident of the country,” he said, explaining that the choice of empty pots as a symbol of the protest was intentional, “because the times have come when people save on everything, since there’s not enough money even for food.”
Moldova, which lies between Romania and Ukraine, is a former Soviet republic that became independent in 1991. It has been actively pushing for EU and NATO membership since 2020, when Sandu, a critic of Russia and supporter of EU integration, came to power.
The country is among the poorest in Europe, and Sandu’s opposition has accused her administration of failing to resolve the crisis in the economy and energy sector and driving Moldova into deeper poverty. Earlier this month, MP Irina Lozovan told Izvestia that farmers are being ruined by Sandu’s EU accession plans, accusing her of allowing businesses from the bloc to buy up land and property at low prices. Earlier this year, another MP, Diana Caraman, said that during Sandu’s rule, the country has greatly deteriorated, with a record 31% of the people on the brink of poverty.
The march comes ahead of a presidential election in Moldova, which will coincide with a referendum on EU integration, on October 20.