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Spain’s First General Strike in 14 Years Puts the Housing Crisis at the Center of Its Election
By Maya Wilson
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Millions of Spanish workers stopped work across the country on Wednesday, November 11, in Spain’s first general strike in 14 years, demanding government action on the housing crisis less than three weeks before a national election. Public transport was delayed, factories slowed and many schools and universities closed or ran at minimal capacity, in a day of disruption that placed housing at the centre of the campaign.
Barcelona’s transport network was at a standstill in the morning rush, while in Madrid city buses were hardest hit amid heavy rain, according to the Associated Press, carried by NPR. Marches were planned for later Wednesday in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities.
The strike was called by Spain’s main unions, the UGT and the CCOO, under the slogan “Salaries. Housing. Prices.” Their central demand is greater government intervention in housing, alongside a new minimum-wage agreement, as rents have risen sharply over the past decade. Average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the last 10 years.
The unions reported high participation in key sectors. They said stoppages reached 90% in the automotive and port sectors, 85% in the meat industry, 82% in waste collection and 75% in energy. Those figures are the unions’ own estimates and have not been independently verified in the reporting available.
The scale of the stoppage reflected the breadth of the housing crisis across the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy. Factories slowed, public services were reduced and classrooms emptied, as workers joined a protest that unions framed as a response to years of rising costs and limited access to affordable homes.
Public anger was fuelled by the televised eviction last month of 87-year-old Maricarmen in Madrid. Her subsequent death made her a symbol for campaigners, who argue that the housing system has failed vulnerable renters. Activists are demanding the elimination of tourist apartments, a crackdown on real-estate speculation and automatic lease renewals for renters.
The political stakes were clear in the response from both the government and the opposition. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who called the election on October 5, warned in a social video that right-wing parties would bring austerity if they won power. The Popular Party took a different view: its spokesperson, Miguel Tellado, called the action “an electoral strike,” not a general strike.
The timing places housing at the heart of the final weeks of campaigning. With the election less than three weeks away, the strike has forced the parties to address the issue directly, rather than treating it as one of many concerns.
On Thursday, the government will again try to have a reduced interim Parliament ratify two housing decrees that the full lower chamber rejected last month. The attempt will be a test of whether the administration can advance its housing agenda in the limited parliamentary session before the election.
For the unions, the strike was intended to show that housing is not only an economic issue but a political one that can bring the country to a halt. For the government, the challenge is to demonstrate that it can respond to the demands without losing control of the campaign. For the opposition, the question is whether voters will see the strike as a legitimate protest or as a political manoeuvre.
As marches were due to take place in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities later on Wednesday, the day’s disruption was set to continue into the evening. The strike has already made housing the central issue of the election campaign, and the debate over how to address it is likely to dominate the remaining weeks before voters go to the polls.
— Maya Wilson, World Desk
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