Millions of Spaniards stage first general strike in 14 years as anger over housing leads to clashes
AI generated
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anger → stage → clashes
A general strike by four million Spanish workers – around one-fifth of the total workforce – against the country’s housing crisis was mostly peaceful on Nov 11, unions said, though clashes erupted in some areas of Barcelona and Madrid by the evening.
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clashes → say → evening
Workers endured stormy weather to set up picket lines, with large marches taking place in Madrid, Barcelona and cities across Spain less than three weeks before a snap general election.
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marches → endure → election
In the evening, clashes between police and some protesters erupted in Barcelona.
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clashes → erupt → Barcelona
Reuters footage showed furniture on the street had been set on fire after the main march had ended.
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march → show → fire
Tensions also rose in Madrid where riot police used foam bullets, tear gas and pepper spray to disperse protesters around the central Plaza de Espana, a Reuters witness said.
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witness → rise → Espana
Police forces reported at least 73 arrests nationwide by 9pm GMT (Nov 12, 5am, Singapore time) from at least 1,044 incidents linked to the general strike, including blockades of offices and industrial estates and burning of rubbish containers.
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forces → report → containers
It is the first general strike since workers downed tools in 2012 against austerity measures during the euro zone debt crisis.
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workers → down → crisis
The walkout is backed by Spain’s two largest unions, the General Union of Workers (UGT) and the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), representing more than a million workers, as well as tenants’ associations angry about rising rents and evictions.
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walkout → back → rents
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hopes to harness voter resentment over housing in the Nov 29 election to shift the attention away from a deadly migration incident in Ceuta in July and a train crash in October.
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Sanchez → hop → October
His government has defended its handling of the disasters but, so far, his Socialist Party still trails in opinion polls.
Unions described the strike as a success even though participation was uneven across Spain, with the strongest support in coastal regions where housing pressures have been particularly acute.
Shops shuttered
On Madrid’s Gran Via, one of the capital’s main shopping streets, protesters cheered as stores including Primark, H&M and Pull&Bear drew their shutters amid a heavy riot police presence.
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stores → defend → presence
“We’re going to close the Mango store,” the protesters chanted as they jangled sets of house keys above their heads.
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they → go → heads
Many shops in Barcelona were also closed and boarded up in anticipation of unrest.
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shops → close → unrest
Spain has a deficit of about 750,000 homes, which is set to grow to more than a million by 2028, according to the central bank.
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which → have → bank
With fewer people able to afford a home, renting has increased sharply, putting pressure on that market.
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renting → afford → market
The average rental price of €1,176 (S$1,673) is equivalent to about 98.7% of a young person’s average monthly salary in Spain, according to the Youth Council of Spain.
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price → accord → Spain
Jesus Gonzalez, who works in a hospital’s information technology department, said soaring costs have kept him from living independently.
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costs → work → him
“I’m 36 years old and I still can’t move out on my own,” the Madrid resident lamented, voicing his support for the strike.
“Rents just keep going up, house prices just keep going up, and it’s simply impossible.”
Turnout strongest at ports, auto plants
Angela de Miguel, vice-president of Spain’s main business lobby CEOE, said the strike was counterproductive because small businesses were also affected by the housing crisis, since shortages of homes made recruitment more challenging.
Speaking on state broadcaster TVE, she said the solution was to build more homes and to lower taxes on construction and the home-buying process.
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solution → ’m → construction
Two heavy storms, dubbed Charles and Bruna, threatened plans for massive protest marches in the afternoon, with unions suspending demonstrations in the southern port city of Cadiz and other cities in the south.
The tenants’ union said it still expected participation in the strike to reach five million people by the end of the day.
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participation → dub → day
Spain has around 23 million workers, according to the national statistics institute.
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Spain → have → institute
According to UGT and CCOO, participation in the strike reached 90% at ports and in the automotive sector, with “total stoppages” reported at factories including Volkswagen’s in Navarre and SEAT’s in Barcelona.
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stoppages → accord → Barcelona
Electricity demand dropped by as much as 15.5% between 10am and 11am local time (Nov 12, 5pm and 6pm, Singapore time), according to Spain’s grid operator Red Electrica.
Less impact owing to remote working
Barcelona’s metro said no trains would run outside peak commuting hours, while Madrid’s metro said peak-hour usage was down 42% compared with the same period last week.
However, with more people able to work remotely and the increasing weight of services in Spain’s economy, the impact of the strike is likely to be less pronounced than in previous years, according to Miguel Cardoso, chief economist at BBVA Research.
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impact → drop → Research
He estimated that the strike could shave 0.1% to 0.2% off Spain’s annual gross domestic product.
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strike → estimate → product
Spain’s fast-growing hospitality and finance industries are less unionised than the public and industrial sectors.
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industries → grow → sectors
Unions said they would file a criminal complaint against what they described as a “disproportionate” response during a police operation involving tear gas and batons that injured 20 protesters.
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that → say → protesters
Spain’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Ministry → respond → comment
The strike follows weeks of demonstrations provoked by the eviction and subsequent death of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid.
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strike → follow → Madrid
Those protests, along with Parliament’s rejection in October of government decrees aimed at curbing evictions and limiting rent pressures, prompted Sanchez to call the snap election.
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protests → aim → election
The Aporia
