Millions of Spanish workers joined a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, halting public transport and major businesses to protest rising housing costs before the November 29 snap general election.
Housing Protests Close Businesses
The 24-hour stoppage is Spain’s first general strike in 14 years. It is the first driven by housing unrest.
Tenants’ associations initiated the action. The country’s largest trade unions, Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) and Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), later backed the strike. Participants rallied under the slogan “Salaries. Housing. Prices.”
Unions estimated that four million workers participated. This total amounts to 8 per cent of the population, according to reporting by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Protestors marched through Madrid, Barcelona, and other major cities. They held up key rings on Gran Vía. They chanted “We’re going to close the Mango store,” as reported by The Independent.
Tens of thousands of people came together in more than 90 marches. They poured into plazas in Barcelona, Madrid, and other cities. They braved storms that brought strong winds, heavy rain, and rough seas.
Public anger reached a boiling point in September. This followed the nationally televised eviction of Maricarmen Abascal. She was an 87-year-old disabled pensioner in Madrid.
Abascal had lived in her apartment for more than seven decades. She died about two weeks later. She became a symbol for Spaniards priced out of the real estate market.
Data released by the National Statistics Institute show property values surged by 84.6 per cent in the decade leading up to 2025. Wages climbed by only 27.9 per cent.
“I’m 36 years old and I still can’t move out on my own,” said Madrid resident Jesus Gonzalez, an IT hospital worker supporting the strike, as noted by France 24. “Rents just keep going up, house prices just keep going up, and it’s simply impossible.”
Spain faces a deficit of 750,000 homes. This shortage is expected to exceed one million by 2028, according to central bank estimates. The Youth Council of Spain reports that average rental prices of €1,176 ($1,315) consume 98.7 percent of a young person’s average monthly salary.
Political Parties Clash Before Election
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the snap general election for November 29. This followed the blocking of emergency housing legislation by right-wing parties.
Opinion polls show a movement toward the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox. A November 9 survey conducted by El País and Cadena SER shows the Popular Party held 31.9%.
Sánchez’s Partido Socialista Obrero Español stood at 29.9%. Vox reached 18%.
Tensions flared early Wednesday at Madrid’s Mercamadrid wholesale market. About 1,000 demonstrators gathered there. The CCOO Madrid branch said on X that police deployed pepper spray against pickets.
Police arrested one person at the market. They left 13 individuals requiring medical attention.
Protesters and police clashed near bus garages and bank branches in Pamplona and Madrid. Police reported 40 arrests by midday from 476 incidents linked to the strike. These included blockades and the burning of rubbish containers.
“The strike is not a general strike, it’s an election strike,” Miguel Tellado, a spokesperson for the PP, said on Tuesday. He accused unions of political maneuvering. Unai Sordo, secretary-general of CCOO, said the strike exceeded the labor unions’ expectations. He said collective bargaining cannot keep pace with housing cost surges.
Miguel Ángel García is the spokesperson for the regional Madrid government run by the Popular Party. He said the walkout was a failure. He claimed that only a small percentage of public sector employees in the region took part.
Antonio Garamendi, president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), said to Antena 3 that the demonstration was an “official,” “atypical,” and “preventive” call promoted by the government. Garamendi cited Red Eléctrica data. It showed an energy consumption drop of 6 percent between 9:00 and 11:00 hours.
“We won’t stop until we transform this country’s housing model from top to bottom so that houses are for living instead of being at the service of the rentier minority,” said Alicia del Río, spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union.
Earlier coverage: French protests reverberate across Europe as turnout dips
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