Spain's main trade unions have launched a nationwide general strike over housing issues and rising living costs. After tens of thousands of people participated in demonstrations, some masked men clashed with the police in Barcelona.
This is Spain's first nationwide general strike in 14 years.
About 120,000 people participated in demonstrations in the capital Madrid, while more than 50,000 people took to the streets in Barcelona. Footage from the scene showed masked men burning trash cans and smashing shop windows, while police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Transportation and many public services across Spain have been severely affected.
Spain will hold congressional elections on November 29.
Pepe Álvarez, leader of Spain's large labor union General Union of Workers (UGT), said that the strike had a "large number" of people participating and the results were remarkable; Unai Sordo, leader of the Workers' Council (CC OO), called the participation rate "very impressive."
On the evening of Wednesday (November 11), a large number of police officers were deployed in the center of Barcelona, equipped with helmets and riot shields.
Some of the clashes took place on Passeig de Gràcia near Plaça de Catalunya in the city center.
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As trash cans were set on fire, many small fires broke out in the middle of the street. Local media reported that some people fired fireworks at police and broke into stores to loot, including a Lego store; other demonstrators tried to enter an Apple store.
A woman who participated in the Barcelona demonstrations told the BBC that most of the demonstrations were actually quite peaceful and had a "joyful atmosphere".
She said she took to the streets to protest against the high cost of housing. "There were many children and elderly people there."
That night she was in the Las Ramblas area and witnessed street fires.
"There was fire everywhere and it was very intense," she said.
Earlier, traffic was disrupted on many major roads in Madrid and Barcelona, causing massive chaos.
Spain's interior ministry said dozens of people had been arrested in connection with various incidents. Spanish media reported that several real estate agency offices were attacked.
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"We have completely paralyzed the city," one Madrid demonstrator told Reuters.
He added that there was widespread support for the strike. "Even though it's raining, everyone still takes to the streets."
Another demonstrator, 37-year-old teacher Olga Domingo, said she participated in the protest because: "The housing problem is outrageous. The current cost of living is simply unaffordable compared to salary levels."
The general strike comes amid ongoing housing protests and rising costs of living across the country.
The trigger was the forced eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal. She was forced to move out of her Madrid home of 70 years and died in hospital a few weeks later.
Rental prices in Madrid have continued to rise in recent years.
According to the real estate website Idealista, the average monthly rent for a 50-square-meter apartment in Madrid in October 2026 will be 1,170 euros (US$1,300; 8,680 yuan; NT$42,600), while the average pre-tax monthly salary in Spain is about 2,460 euros.
This means that rent accounts for nearly half of the average salary, well above the 30% affordability standard generally recommended by housing experts and public agencies.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced early elections last month after Congress failed to pass a housing reform package.
The last nationwide general strike in Spain was in 2012, when conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was in power.
While general strikes have historically tended to be detrimental to the ruling party, this time the situation is different. Sánchez and members of his cabinet even openly encouraged labor strikes to demand more affordable housing.
Sanchez wrote on social media: "Your eight-hour work day, pensions, public health care system...these are the fruits of collective struggle." He also praised previous strike participants.
image copyrightEPA
In contrast, the conservative People's Party (PP) criticized the government for trying to use the strike to win votes.
Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called the general strike "ridiculous" and described unions as "mafia" and "rubbish".
Fejo's People's Party currently leads the polls.
Popular Party spokesman Miguel Tellado accused the government of using the strike to warn voters in an attempt to prevent a right-wing government from coming to power, which is the most likely outcome of the November 29 election.
"What is really ridiculous is questioning workers' right to strike," Sanchez said in an interview with Spanish television this week.
27-year-old Gonzalo Álvarez is also one of the strike participants. That day he shuttled between picket lines in central Madrid.
Although he works as a salesperson, he is also a volunteer for a housing union, helping to protect tenants' rights and promote relevant knowledge.
He told the BBC that the deportation of Mary Carmen Abascal at the end of September was the "little spark" that set off the protests.
Alvarez knew the 87-year-old woman. The new landlord demanded triple the rent and he was very upset about the way she was being treated.
He currently rents a one-bedroom apartment in the Arganzuela district in southern Madrid with his girlfriend, who is a dental hygienist. The two of them pay a total of 1,000 euros in monthly rent, which means that the rent alone accounts for nearly half of each person's salary, before other expenses are included.
"It's really crazy... there's food, electricity, water, gas," he said.
Talking about the possibility of buying a house, he said: "You have to save an exaggerated amount of money to afford a house. With the current salary, it is simply impossible."
He believes that based on current housing prices and rent levels: "Buying a house is completely impossible."
However, Miguel Garrido, vice president of the Confederation of Enterprise Organizations (CEOE), Spain’s largest chamber of commerce, criticized the strike and believed that companies have little to do with the rise in housing prices.
"This is not a strike based on labor issues, but a political strike and is closely related to early elections," he said.
Demonstrations were scheduled for later in the day in many major cities in Spain. It is generally believed that the scale of support will become an important indicator of the degree of public dissatisfaction before the election.
Another important indicator of the impact of the strike is industrial electricity demand.
According to data from Spanish electricity company Red Eléctrica, national electricity consumption fell by 7.5% in the early hours of Wednesday morning. In comparison, during the last national strike 14 years ago, electricity consumption fell by more than 15% during the same period.
Additional reporting: Gabriela Pomeroy
This article was originally written in English. We used artificial intelligence to assist in translation and was reviewed by BBC journalists before publication. Learn more about how we use artificial intelligence.
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