Millions of workers on Wednesday staged Spain’s first general strike in 14 years in protest of the country’s housing crisis.
asserted
Millions → stag → crisis
Around 4 million workers—around 17% of the country’s 23 million-strong workforce—participated in the Nov. 11 walkout, unions said.
asserted
unions → participate → walkout
The strike was organized by Spain’s two largest unions, the General Union of Workers (UGT) and the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), tenants’ associations, and other unions.
asserted
strike → organize → Workers
In cities across Spain, including Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on Wednesday to demand measures to bring down rental prices.
asserted
thousands → include → prices
The last nationwide general strike was in 2012, when workers staged nationwide walkouts and downed tools to protest austerity spending cuts and sweeping labor market reforms during the Eurozone debt crisis.
asserted
workers → stag → crisis
The strike comes weeks before Spain’s Nov. 29 national election, in which rising rents and cost-of-living have become defining issues.
asserted
rents → come → living
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government called snap elections last month after the eviction and subsequent death of an 87-year-old tenant in September prompted days of mass protests.
asserted
eviction → call → protests
In an unusual move, Sánchez’s government declared its support for the general strike.
asserted
government → declare → strike
The administration appears hopeful that it will be buoyed in the election by resentment over the opposition’s block on new housing measures.
asserted
it → appear → measures
None of this fell from the sky.
asserted
None → fall → sky
We won't let them be taken away.
asserted
them → let → ?
We will keep moving forward,” Sánchez posted on X on Monday, alongside a video describing Spain’s biggest social advances over the last century as the result of collective pressure.
asserted
Sánchez → keep → pressure
“Every right that workers in this country enjoy was won through struggle and strikes,” Spain’s Social Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy, an independent politician allied with Sánchez, said on Tuesday, the day before the strike.
asserted
Bustinduy → enjoy → strike
Second Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, a member of Sumar, the junior partner in Sánchez’s left-wing coalition government, posted on Bluesky on Wednesday: “When our country stops, it is always to move forward.”
asserted
it → post → Wednesday
Several unions declined to support the strike, citing its proximity to the election.
asserted
unions → decline → election
But unions that backed the strike said it was nonpartisan and that their demands were aimed at local and national governments of any party.
asserted
demands → back → party
“We don’t distinguish between political affiliations,” Valeria Racu, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, told the Spanish public broadcaster TVE on Wednesday.
asserted
Racu → distinguish → Wednesday
We have no more patience.
asserted
We → have → patience
Walkout, protests, and violence
UGT and CCOO called the strike a success, while the tenants’ union estimated 4 million people had joined the stoppage and said it expected the total to grow to 5 million by the end of Wednesday.
asserted
total → call → Wednesday
CEOE, Spain’s main employers’ confederation, however, estimated that less than 5% of workers participated.
asserted
% → estimate → workers
In statements, CEOE said the action was a “failure,” and it argued that employers were being unfairly made to bear the cost of demands over housing policy.
asserted
employers → say → policy
The association said the government’s support for the strike projects “a regrettable image abroad.”
asserted
support → say → image
Support for the strike was most concentrated in coastal areas, at ports, and in the automotive sector, according to UGT and CCOO.
uncertain
Support → concentrate → UGT
The unions reported a halt to production at Seat’s Martorell plant and majority support for the strike at Volkswagen’s factory in Navarre.
asserted
unions → report → Navarre
Large demonstrations in cities across Spain accompanied the strike.
asserted
demonstrations → accompany → strike
In Madrid, protesters linked arms and blocked Gran Vía, the city’s main shopping area, and called for people to stop working and shopping.
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people → link → Vía
Shops along the thoroughfare, including H&M and Stradivarius, temporarily closed as protesters passed.
asserted
protesters → include → H&M
While unions said protests were largely peaceful, police reported at least 75 arrests across the country as of Wednesday night.
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police → say → night
Officials said there were at least 1,044 incidents linked to the general strike.
asserted
Officials → say → strike
In Barcelona, police said protesters had smashed shop windows, burned rubbish containers, and launched fireworks at officers.
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protesters → say → officers
CCOO Madrid said it planned to file a criminal complaint against the “disproportionate” response by police after riot police used batons and pepper spray against protesters in Madrid, allegedly injuring 20.
uncertain
police → say → 20
Frustrations loom over election
The demonstrations are at the center of political debate ahead of the elections.
asserted
demonstrations → loom → elections
Several opposition politicians accused Sánchez’s government of stoking the strike for political gain.
asserted
politicians → accuse → gain
“This is an electoral strike,” said Miguel Tellado, secretary-general of the conservative Popular Party (PP).
asserted
Tellado → say → Party
“Don’t hold it,” PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo warned the unions, “or you will tie your image to Pedro Sánchez forever.”
asserted
you → hold → Sánchez
Feijóo called the strike “a general strike against the opposition.”
asserted
Feijóo → call → opposition
Sánchez’s government defended the constitutional right to strike.
asserted
government → defend → right
Sánchez said the action “is not against anyone,” and he argued that all public institutions should act to address the country’s housing needs.
asserted
institutions → say → needs
Anger over Spain’s housing crisis came to a head in September, after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from her home after its owner sought to raise her rent fivefold.
asserted
owner → come → rent
While the landlord eventually agreed to let her return without raising the rent, Abascal died in hospital two weeks after the eviction, before she could move back.
uncertain
she → agree → eviction
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
