Spain general strike housing costs Barcelona clashes, Digi Mart USA News (Spain): Clashes have broken out between groups of masked men and police in Barcelona after tens of thousands of people took part in Spain’s first general strike for 14 years, called by the country’s main unions over housing and the high cost of living.
Some 120,000 people joined a demonstration in the capital Madrid and more than 50,000 turned out in Barcelona, where footage showed masked men setting fire to rubbish bins and smashing shop windows as police fired tear gas. Transport and other public services across Spain faced serious disruption.
Spaniards are due to vote in parliamentary elections on 29 November. The head of the UGT labour union, Pepe Álvarez, said the strike was a success with “massive” participation, while Unai Sordo of the CC OO union said turnout was “very significant.”
Some of the disturbances took place on the Passeig de Gràcia, close to the Plaça de Catalunya. Local media reported that a group fired fireworks towards police and looted shops including the Lego store, while protesters were also seen trying to enter the Apple Store.
A woman who attended the Barcelona protests told the BBC it was mostly very peaceful and “joyful”, adding that “there were a lot of children and old people there.”
The strike followed widespread protests over affordable housing and rising living costs, after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from a Madrid flat where she had lived for seven decades. She died in hospital weeks later.
The average monthly cost of a 50 sq m apartment in Madrid was €1,170 ($1,300; £1,000) in October, according to property portal Idealista, while Spain’s average gross monthly salary is about €2,460.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called snap elections last month after parliament failed to approve his plan for housing reform. The conservative People’s Party, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, accused the government of attempting to weaponise the strike for electoral gain, while Spain’s business association CEOE criticised the strike as political rather than labour-related.
The interior ministry said dozens of people were arrested for a variety of incidents, and Spanish reports said estate agencies had seen attacks on their offices. Power usage in Spain fell by 7.5% during the early hours of Wednesday, according to operator Red Eléctrica, compared with a fall of more than 15% during the last general strike 14 years ago.
