Housing Crisis and Cost of Living: 120,000 Demonstrators in Massive General Strike in Madrid

Under heavy rainfall, the Spanish capital, Madrid, saw around 120,000 demonstrators take to the streets in massive marches that brought the city's main thoroughfares to a standstill, as part of a nationwide general strike called by labor unions to protest exorbitant costs of living and an escalating housing crisis, according to the capital's prefecture.

Protesters held up cardboard cutouts and banners shaped like houses, chanting slogans reflecting their struggles with housing unaffordability and the rising costs of daily living. This protest action, led by the UGT and CCOO trade unions alongside tenant defense groups, marks the country's first general strike organized since 2012 to denounce the deterioration of public services, wage stagnation, and sharp increases in rental prices.

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Public anger was recently fueled by an eviction incident that shocked public opinion last September, involving an 87-year-old retired woman in Madrid. While union federations affirmed broad participation, particularly across industrial sectors and port areas, the employers' organization (CEOE) downplayed the economic impact of the strike action.

The marches extended to multiple Spanish cities and metropolitan areas, intersecting with a broader wave of protests across several European nations, including France, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, and Germany, in defense of citizens' and residents' purchasing power. These mobilizations have firmly placed the housing crisis at the forefront of the political agenda, less than three weeks ahead of the snap legislative elections scheduled for November 29.