MADRID — Millions of workers walked off the job across Spain on Wednesday in the nation’s first general strike in 14 years, mounting picket lines, halting highway traffic and marching in major cities to protest soaring rent and living costs.
The 24-hour national stoppage, called by tenants’ organizations and backed by Spain’s largest labor unions, brought significant disruption to public transit, industrial operations and ports less than three weeks before a high-stakes parliamentary election scheduled for Nov. 29.
Disruptions and clashes across major cities
In Barcelona, masked demonstrators set fire to trash containers, broke storefront windows and blocked major transit corridors, including both directions of the AP-7 highway, while police fired tear gas, the BBC reported. Protesters in Madrid halted traffic on the capital’s main thoroughfare and picketed outside the Mercamadrid wholesale facility, where scuffles broke out with law enforcement.
Demonstrators outside the Madrid market said officers deployed pepper spray, driving at least 13 people to seek medical care, according to DW. Spain’s Interior Ministry confirmed dozens of arrests nationwide, with other official statements putting the total above 50 for minor offenses. Estate agencies in several locations were also targeted, the BBC reported.
Union representatives reported deep work stoppages in heavy industry, including 90 percent participation across port operations and automotive plants, as well as 82 percent in waste collection, The Guardian reported. The Confederation of Tenants’ Association stated that roughly 4 million people had participated by midday.
Crowds gathered in plazas despite severe storm warnings that forced cancellations of planned demonstrations in southern cities such as Seville and Córdoba. In Madrid, police estimated that roughly 120,000 people took part in the central rally, while more than 50,000 turned out in Barcelona, according to the BBC.
Roots of the nationwide anger
Public outrage over shelter costs surged after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid apartment of seven decades earlier this year; she died in a hospital weeks later. The tragedy focused national attention on a real estate market where rents have surged roughly 80 percent over the past decade.
The Bank of Spain estimates the nation faces a deficit of 750,000 homes, an imbalance projected to expand past one million within two years. According to figures from property portal Idealista cited by the BBC, an average 50-square-meter apartment in Madrid cost €1,170 per month in October, eating up almost half the average gross monthly wage of €2,460. Among younger residents, the national youth council reported average rents match roughly 99 percent of typical earnings, DW reported.
“There is no salary that can cope with the price of housing in this country,” said Pepe Álvarez, leader of the UGT union, in remarks translated by CNBC.
Election campaign battleground
The labor action comes as political parties prepare for the snap vote called by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez after conservative and far-right lawmakers blocked proposed housing legislation. Sánchez subsequently enacted decree measures, but public attention has remained divided following two deadly train accidents this year, including a high-speed crash that killed 69 people.
While Sánchez praised the historic role of trade unions in securing basic labor rights, conservative opponents labeled the walkout a partisan tactic. Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso accused organizers of taking residents hostage, while Popular Party spokesperson Miguel Tellado dismissed the event as an “election strike,” CNBC reported.
Recent polling published ahead of the walkout gave the Popular Party and the right-wing Vox party a combined lead capable of forming a governing coalition, which would return the far right to national government for the first time in five decades. Whether Wednesday’s demonstrations succeed in keeping housing at the center of voters’ minds before the Nov. 29 election remains to be seen.
