by Ilya Maximov
[Regnum] Spain experienced its first general strike in 14 years, which ended in clashes with police. Pedro Sánchez's government hoped to use the strike, which took place 18 days before snap parliamentary elections, to its advantage, but it ultimately backfired.
| Good. It’s exactly what they deserve. |
Up to 90% of port and auto industry workers, over 80% of garbage collectors, and approximately 75% of energy workers went on strike. Participation in the public sector, healthcare, education, and retail was minimal.
The protest was not limited to workers, but also included other groups such as students and pensioners. Trade unions called the protest a "great success," while Madrid government spokesman Miguel Ángel García of the conservative People's Party (PP) described it as a "complete and utter failure."
However, the discrepancy in assessments does not negate the real consequences. Strikers blocked key highways entering Madrid and Barcelona, and all major modes of transportation were disrupted: many flights were cancelled, long-distance trains and commuter trains were canceled, and the metro and other public transportation in the cities were disrupted.
The strike also forced the closure of many shops and establishments. Following previous protests, as well as events in France and other EU countries, business owners feared further unrest and pogroms would follow.
Fears were realized: that evening, groups of masked men began burning trash containers, smashing shop windows, and setting off fireworks toward the police. This resulted in clashes with law enforcement.
In Barcelona, protesters stormed the studio of RTVE Catalonia, disrupting the live broadcast. Around 40 masked and hooded protesters lined up in front of the camera and unfurled banners reading, "Life should not cost us our lives."
As a result of clashes across the country, police detained at least 100 people. Trade unions announced their intention to sue for disproportionate use of force: in Madrid alone, according to their data, at least 20 demonstrators were injured.
The strike was held under the slogan "Wages. Housing. Prices." Its main topic was the housing crisis, not labor disputes.
With a housing shortage estimated at approximately 750,000 homes, rents represent 98.7% of the average young person's monthly salary, forcing many to stay with their parents and unable to start their own families.
"I'm 36 years old, and I still can't live on my own. Rents are going up, housing prices are going up—it's simply impossible," one participant complained to Reuters.
Another participant told the BBC that she was protesting because "the housing situation is outrageous." "The current cost-of-living-to-wages ratio is completely unacceptable," she said.
"It's absolute madness... with food, electricity, water, gas. We need to raise an insane amount of money to buy a house. With these wages, it's impossible," noted another striker in Barcelona.
Initially, Pedro Sánchez, who initiated early elections in an attempt to stay in power, hoped to exploit all this anger to his advantage. The plan was simple: to shift the campaign to the housing crisis, presenting himself as a defender of ordinary people against "rentiers" and "vulture funds" (i.e., the legitimate owners), as well as against a parliament that defended private property rights, where the left had failed to push through its initiative.
The government not only publicly sympathized with the protests and the subsequent strike; it encouraged them, calling their demands just and calling on Spaniards to take to the streets and fight. However, since the initial demonstrations, the mood on the streets has changed, and the resulting wave of discontent has hit Sánchez and his allies hard.
From the very first hours, the Tenants' Union declared that the new protest was "directed against governments of all political persuasions—at the central, regional, and local levels." At rallies across the country, slogans like "Where is the progressive government?" and even "The progressive government is a lackey of the rentiers!" were heard.
The strikers openly stated that they no longer trust the left-wing cabinet, which had brought the situation to the point of a housing crisis.
"Our future is a complete nightmare, and we must protest until we are heard. The left is failing, and we want them to come to their senses," one of the striking Madrid residents told El Mundo.
Another participant noted that the Socialists at the helm, led by Sanchez, “are socialists when it suits them.”
"A revolution of fatigue and discontent is approaching," one Granada resident who supported the protests and the strike warned El Pais.
Meanwhile, less than three weeks before the parliamentary elections, according to the latest polls, the conservative People's Party is in the lead, while the Socialists remain in second place, followed by another right-wing party, Voice. If the right-wingers form a coalition, they have a good chance of winning a majority, which requires 176 of the 350 seats.
Then Sánchez's entire shakeup of the unpopular parliament will be in vain. And the current prime minister himself will be stripped of power, since in Spain, the head of government is chosen by legislators after consultations with the king.
According to polls, the ruling alliance can expect to secure approximately 40% of the seats, which is insufficient to retain power without a complex alliance with regional parties. However, the left is currently struggling to reach agreement even among itself, so there's little hope for a new coalition.
Sánchez dug the hole he was preparing for the opposition. He supported the strike, hoping to ride the wave of popular anger, but instead became a target for the protesters.
If the right does indeed win a majority on November 29, it will not be so much a victory for them as a defeat for the left-wing government, which for too long has confused populist rhetoric and political struggle with the real work of power.
| Oh no, it will definitely be a win for the right. That’s what victory means. |