Spain holds first general strike in 14 years over housing, weeks before election

Workers across Spain held a general strike on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. It is the country's first general strike in 14 years. The strike centres on Spain's housing crisis. It comes a few weeks before a snap national election.

According to The Associated Press (AP) and France 24, the election is scheduled for 29 November. The Hindu and France 24 report that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called it on 5 October.

The strike

The Hindu and France 24 carried AP reporting. According to those reports, millions of workers are taking part. France 24 also says the strike is over the rising cost of living. Its official slogan is "Salaries. Housing. Prices." Housing activists called the strike. Spain's two main unions, UGT and CCOO, later backed it.

Reuters reported that picket lines were set up despite stormy weather. Strikers set off fireworks at midnight in public squares in Barcelona, according to The Hindu and France 24. Those reports describe minor incidents in the first hours. They include roadblocks in Barcelona, some with burning tyres. They also include scuffles between picketers and police near the main wholesale market on the outskirts of Madrid. The strike was expected to delay public transport and slow or shut businesses, factories and shops.

Background

The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the last 10 years, according to The Hindu and France 24. Last month, an 87-year-old woman known as Maricarmen was evicted from her home in Madrid. The eviction was shown on national television. She later died. The reports say the case intensified public anger over housing.

The government pushed through emergency measures to limit evictions and help tenants. Last month, the full lower chamber of Parliament rejected two housing decrees. On Thursday, 12 November, the government will again try to have a reduced interim Parliament ratify them, the reports say.

A high-speed train collision that killed 69 people has dominated news during the campaign, according to the same reports. It was Spain's second deadly rail disaster of the year. Months of polling have shown voters leaning toward the right. The Popular Party (PP) and Vox already govern together in some regions.

What each side says

• UGT and CCOO said on social media that participation was widespread in the early hours. They reported stoppages of 90% in the automotive and port sectors, 85% in the meat industry, 82% in waste collection and 75% in energy. They want more government intervention in housing and a new minimum wage agreement through talks with the business owners' association.
• Housing activists want tourist apartments eliminated, a crackdown on real estate speculation, and automatic lease renewals.
• Right-wing parties refused to ratify the emergency measures. They argued that the measures would cause properties to leave the rental market.
• The PP and Vox oppose housing market intervention other than incentives to build new homes. They argue the unions are playing politics to help Sánchez stay in office. The Hindu quoted PP spokesperson Miguel Tellado as saying: "This strike is not a general strike; it is an electoral strike. It is not against the government in power, but rather against the government to be."
• Sánchez, in a social media video, praised past social policies he linked to the workers' movement. He warned that right-wing parties would bring austerity. The Hindu quoted him as saying: "It wasn’t easy, but they changed Spain".
• Verónica Martínez, Sumar spokesperson, was quoted by The Hindu as saying: "the Left needs the workers of this country to mobilize. Rights are first won on the streets and then later in the institution."

What the reports do not include

The reports do not include government or other independent participation figures. The sector figures come only from the unions. The reports do not include police accounts of the incidents, and they do not mention arrests or injuries. Vocemundi reviewed only the headline and summary of the Reuters report.

Analysis

The strike links a long-running housing debate to an election campaign that, according to the reports, has been dominated by a rail disaster. Oriol Bartomeus, a political scientist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told The Associated Press that the strike could help the Socialists and their allies if it succeeds without violence. He said right-wing parties could benefit if it turns violent. Both outcomes remain open. Thursday's vote on the housing decrees, independent participation data and polling in the coming weeks may show whether housing regains a central place in the campaign. None of these outcomes is certain.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.