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Spain Faces 24-Hour General Strike Over Housing Crisis

Unions say 300,000 workers are involved as the walkout presses for rent controls, stronger tenant protections and more public housing.

  • On Wednesday, November 11, 2026, millions of Spanish workers participated in a 24-hour general strike, paralyzing transport and industry to demand government action on the nation's severe housing affordability crisis.
  • Nationwide outrage over the September eviction and death of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal fueled the walkout, as soaring rents and a structural deficit of 750,000 homes leave many citizens unable to afford housing.
  • Major unions UGT and CCOO reported 90% participation in automotive and port sectors, though police pepper-sprayed protesters at Madrid's Mercamadrid wholesale market, leaving at least 13 people seeking medical attention.
  • Opposition parties dismissed the protest as a political maneuver ahead of the November 29 snap election, with Popular Party spokesperson Miguel Tellado calling it an "election strike" rather than a labor action.
  • With the snap election approaching, the strike underscores intense political polarization over housing, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces trailing polls and a potential challenge from a far-right coalition.
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Center

Tens of thousands of people marched in Madrid and Barcelona on a day of historic general strike. Three weeks before the legislative elections, the social crisis is at the heart of the political debate.

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Lean Left

The movement, supported by the left-wing government, gathered tens of thousands of people on Wednesday, November 11, and provoked the anger of the right-wing, who denounce pressure to deprive them of a victory in the legislative elections on November 29.

·Paris, France
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Lean Right

MADRID - The Congress of Deputies gate is guarded by Daoiz and Velarde, two bronze lions, symbols of Spanish parliamentary democracy. A few steps from there thousands of...

·Milan, Italy
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El Pais broke the news in Madrid, Spain on Monday, November 2, 2026.
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