Several union organizations launched a general strike in Spain on Wednesday (11N) to demand improvements in living conditions, access to housing and the strengthening of public services.
In the first hours of the pressure move, police officers repressed various groups of people demonstrating in the streets of Madrid, Andalusia and other Spanish cities.
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The strike arose from a proposal promoted by the Sindicato de Inquilinas and has the backing of union confederations including the General Union of Workers (UGT), Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and the National Confederation of Labor (CNT), among other organizations.
Promoters question a social model that, in their judgment, favors certain sectors while broad groups of workers face economic difficulties. The protest has been presented as a response to accumulated problems affecting different areas of society. Although the demands cover different sectors, one of the main triggers has been the housing crisis.
The case of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman evicted from the home in which she lived for seven decades and who died two weeks later, became a symbol of the social unrest accompanying the call.
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:
Milei, Trump, Bolsonaro, Orbán — they all belong to the same international far-right movement, which, incidentally, is also financed by tech oligarchs like Elon Musk.
Ultimately, what they all want is to turn Spain into their colony.
We are not going… pic.twitter.com/oHivTeSc0g
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 10, 2026
Participating organizations also demand decent wages, better working conditions, adequate pensions and greater protection of public services. According to the organizers, these demands respond to problems affecting a significant part of the population.
Economist Antonio González, a member of Economistas Frente a la Crisis, said: “In the last 30 years, wages have grown very little in Spain. In fact, we are one of the European countries where they have grown the least in all this time.” Meanwhile, economist Julio Rodríguez, a member of the Housing Advisory Council of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, said there is a marked difference between the population’s income and housing prices.
BREAKING 🇪🇸 Millions of workers have walked off the job in Spain’s first general strike for 14 years.
The strike, called by the UGT and CCOO, involves 90% of workers in the automotive sector, 85% in the meat industry, 82% in waste collection, and 75% in the energy sector. pic.twitter.com/QjMiDoUKZN
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) November 11, 2026
The debate has also reached politics. The PSOE government and several left-wing forces backed the mobilization, while the Popular Party (PP), Vox and business representatives rejected the call, considering that it responds to political interests.
In that context, the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, said in a television interview that she had asked Alberto Núñez , head of the Popular Party to “put an end to all the union trash.”
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.