Spain: tens of thousands demonstrate over housing
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business News, Lebrief, Sowetan and Al Jazeera
Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated on Wednesday 11 November in Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities against the housing crisis and the cost of living, less than three weeks before early legislative elections. The mobilisation, the first national general strike of this scale since 2012, brought around 120,000 demonstrators to the capital and more than 50,000 to Barcelona, according to Al Jazeera.
The general strike mobilised 4 million Spanish workers, or around one-fifth of the working population. The ports, automotive and retail sectors were particularly affected, while the UGT and CCOO trade unions claimed strong participation in the sectors most heavily mobilised.
Clashes broke out in Madrid and Barcelona in the evening. Groups of masked demonstrators threw projectiles at police and started fires, while law enforcement used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Police reported at least 73 arrests across the country by 9pm, after 1,044 incidents linked to the strike, including blockades of offices and industrial areas and container fires.
The housing crisis is accompanied by a shortfall of around 750,000 homes in Spain, which could exceed one million by 2028, according to the central bank. The average rent is €1,176 per month, while tenants' associations joined the mobilisation in response to rising rents and evictions.
