Riot police clashed with masked protesters in Madrid and Barcelona, leaving more than 70 people arrested, as unions and employers gave opposing verdicts on the walkout.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Spain on Wednesday in the country’s first general strike in 14 years, called in protest at the housing crisis and low wages. Even heavy rain did not stop the demonstrations. In the capital, Madrid, protesters braved the weather with chants, dancing and keys held aloft.
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The 24-hour stoppage began at midnight under the slogan "Wages, housing and prices". It was backed by Spain’s two largest trade unions, Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the General Union of Workers (UGT), along with the smaller CGT and CNT unions and other organisations. It was the first major mobilisation by the main unions since 2012, under the conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy, and the eighth general strike since Spain returned to democracy in the late 1970s.
Estimates of turnout varied widely between organisers and the authorities. In Madrid, the Tenants’ Union (Sindicato de Inquilinas) put attendance at more than half a million people, while the central government’s office in the city counted 120,000. In Barcelona, organisers said 400,000 people took part, compared with 55,000 according to the city police. In the northern city of Bilbao, municipal police recorded around 50,000 people.
Young people are among the hardest hit by a housing crisis that has pushed rents up by around 80% over the past decade, while wages have failed to keep pace. The protests were aimed at national, regional and local authorities of all political colours, which organisers accuse of failing to take effective action.
Valeria Racu, a spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union, directed her criticism at every level of government. "This is a strike against rentierism, against landlords, against employers and against all governments," she said. "That includes the central government, this progressive government that has been very disappointing and whose housing policy has been disastrous and has brought us to this point, just as the policies of the Partido Popular did before."
Afternoon marches were scheduled for 05:30pm local time in Barcelona, starting from the Jardinets de Gràcia, and for 6:00pm in Madrid, from Atocha station to Plaza de España. The most tense moments came in both cities, where riot police charged groups of masked protesters who had thrown fireworks and flares at officers. Nationwide, more than 70 people were arrested and police recorded 1,500 incidents.
Tensions had already flared early in the morning in Madrid. The unions reported at least eight people injured when police charged a picket outside the city’s bus depots. The UGT’s general secretary, Pepe Álvarez, also accused police on X of obstructing a constitutional right by surrounding an information picket at Mercamadrid, the city’s main wholesale food market.
Unions and employers offer conflicting assessments
While the unions described the strike as a success, employers called it a failure. One indicator was a 25.6% drop in industrial electricity demand. According to CCOO and UGT, participation reached 90% in the ports, especially Valencia and Algeciras, and in the car industry, with complete stoppages at Volkswagen’s plant in Navarre and at Seat.
Participation stood at 85% in the meat industry and 82% in waste collection. The Madrid metro, which ran a minimum service, recorded 21% fewer passengers at 7:00.
On the political front, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative Partido Popular (PP), Spain’s main opposition party, warned that the unions may have made a “historic mistake” by calling the strike. Álvarez defended the walkout, saying that whoever is in government “will have to listen to the people”.