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Protester in Madrid during the nationwide general strike over the country's housing crisis. Alamy
Protests
Tens of thousands take to the streets of Spain in first national strike in over a decade
The size of the strike today is seen as a litmus test for level of discontent ahead of the snap general election which will be held on 29 November.
TENS OF THOUSANDS of people have taken to the streets of Spain in the country’s first general strike in 14 years, rallying against housing affordability and high cost of living just weeks before a snap general election.
The strike, called by the country’s main unions, comes after widespread protests that have swept through the country, sparked by the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from a flat in Madrid where she had lived for seven decades. She died in hospital weeks later.
Unions described the turnout today as “massive” and “very significant.”
However, business leaders played down the participation, with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations saying participation was “low and uneven”, depending on the areas and sectors involved.
Braving heavy rain, over 120,000 demonstrators marched through central Madrid carrying placards shaped like houses and chanting “We have no home” as they called for more affordable housing.
“People work a lot and it isn’t enough to pay the rent, to pay for a house,” Paula Diaz, a 25-year-old theatre technician who lives with her parents, told AFP at the Madrid protest.
“I hope a government that benefits us comes to power, especially the working class,” she added.
In Barcelona, where the authorities estimated 55,000 people marched from the suburb of Gracia and down the city’s luxury Passeig de Gracia commercial thoroughfare, Maria Pinana told AFP that “the law of supply and demand does not apply to housing”.
“The price of rents should be regulated,” said the 34-year-old microbiologist, who lives with three friends in a flat where parts of the roof have collapsed.
Protests were held in other cities across Spain, including Bilbao, Valencia and Zaragoza.
The size of the demonstrations will be seen as an indicator of public discontent before the snap election on 29 November, which the right-wing opposition is predicted to win.
Today’s strike also follows weeks of protests that have spread across countries in mainland Europe, with many young people taking to the streets sharing similar grievances.
‘Failure’
In Madrid, where many shops opened as normal, demonstrators earlier on Wednesday blocked some roads, picket action that was replicated across the country.
Public transport suffered disruption even with the implementation of minimum service requirements for commuter trains, metros and buses, especially in and around Barcelona.
In contrast, Madrid’s metro reported that 93% of its trains ran in the early morning, although passenger numbers were down by around half.
UGT union leader Pepe Alvarez told public broadcaster RTVE that the participation was “massive”, with a “total” stoppage in some regions making the strike “a huge success”.
But his union acknowledged participation was “uneven”, with large mobilisation in the car manufacturing, petrochemicals and meat sectors and in coastal regions.
The CEOE organisation, which represents business leaders, called the strike “a failure”, adding in a statement that activity had gone ahead normally in most sectors.
Electricity demand had fallen by around 5%, “significantly lower” than in previous strikes, the CEOE said.
‘New cycle’
The main UGT and CCOO unions called the strike following a wave of nationwide protests over access to housing, sparked by the eviction in September of an 87-year-old Madrid pensioner.
Valeria Racu, spokeswoman for the Madrid Tenants’ Union which has been at the forefront of protests for weeks, vowed to “put an end to the housing business in this country”.
“A new cycle is beginning with trade unionism and conflict at its centre. This day of strikes has been a resounding success,” she said.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the election, initially scheduled for 2027, after his minority government failed to secure parliamentary approval for a package of housing measures proposed in response to the demonstrations.
Business groups and the right have rejected the strike, seeing it as an election-related gambit rather than a genuine labour dispute.
But the unions have insisted the strike is directed against all levels of the state and not only the right, which voted down the government’s housing decrees.
They have defended the walkout as an exceptional measure intended to generate broad social pressure for action on soaring housing costs.
Living costs are another major concern, with inflation hitting 4.9% in September and October – its highest level in more than three years.
Isabel Iglesias, a nurse who lives in Madrid, said housing was the issue “that is affecting me the most”. She pays a rent of 1,000 euros with her partner but earns just 1,700 euros a month.
Iglesias (27) said Sanchez, who has been in power since 2018, “could have done much more” on housing, urging the next government “to listen to everyone and get their act together”.
With reporting by AFP
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