MADRID, Nov. 12 — Spain staged its first nationwide general strike in 14 years on Wednesday as major labor unions mobilized massive demonstrations against surging living costs and an acute housing crisis, culminating in violent clashes between masked protesters and riot police in central Barcelona, BBC News reported on Thursday.
According to official and media estimates, roughly 120,000 demonstrators marched through Madrid, while more than 50,000 took to the streets in Barcelona demanding urgent relief from runaway rents and inflation. Public transit networks, municipal infrastructure, and essential public services suffered widespread disruption across the country.
The walkout arrives at a politically charged juncture, just weeks ahead of Spain’s scheduled parliamentary elections on November 29. Pepe Álvarez, Secretary-General of the General Union of Workers (UGT), declared the strike an overwhelming success driven by massive public turnout, while Unai Sordo, leader of the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), described the mobilization across Spanish cities as “highly significant.”
While daytime marches proceeded largely peacefully—drawing families, pensioners, and students—tensions boiled over after nightfall in Barcelona’s commercial core. Heavy contingents of helmeted riot police deployed near Plaça de Catalunya and the upscale Passeig de Gràcia boulevard as masked individuals set fire to street refuse bins, erected burning barricades, and smashed storefronts.
Local media reported that groups of rioters launched fireworks at police lines, looted commercial outlets including a Lego store, and attempted to force entry into a nearby Apple flagship store. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.
One demonstrator in Barcelona told the BBC that while the afternoon rally had felt peaceful and “festive” with many children and elderly residents present, the atmosphere deteriorated sharply after dark near the famed Las Ramblas avenue. “There were fires everywhere; the situation became extremely intense and frightening,” she said.
For many working residents, the protests reflect deepening household strain. Álvarez, a resident sharing a small apartment with his partner in Madrid’s southern Arganzuela district, noted that their €1,000 monthly rent consumes nearly half of each of their individual salaries. “Combined with groceries, electricity, water, and gas bills, this rent is pure madness,” he said. “Buying a home on current wages is completely impossible.”
Business leaders, however, strongly condemned the industrial action. Miguel Garrido, Vice President of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), dismissed the walkout as a partisan maneuver rather than a legitimate workplace dispute. “This is not a strike called for labor-related reasons, but purely for political motives, closely tied to the upcoming snap election,” Garrido stated.
Source: BBC News Dispatches & Spanish Media Reports, Madrid/Barcelona