Spain general strike: piquetes, reduced transport and clashes

Spain held a nationwide general strike on 11 November called by the two main unions UGT and CCOO, the first joint national strike in 14 years, focused on housing and low wages. The strike coincided with the campaign ahead of the 29 November general election, and BBC Mundo and experts framed the action as inevitably political; Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez backed the strike while opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo condemned it. Transport and public services ran with reduced cover: Renfe operated roughly 75% of peak services and 50% off-peak, and regional reporting in Euskadi said health and transport were working to minimum service levels. Around 1,000 people gathered overnight at the Mercamadrid wholesale market, where pickets clashed with police; unions alleged use of pepper spray. UGT and CCOO presented night-time summaries of the strike’s development, and unions said they expected massive participation aimed at pushing housing and wage issues into the electoral debate. Observers and union leaders say the main immediate effect will be to center conversation on rents and salaries during the electoral campaign, with political parties interpreting turnout and disruptions as electoral signals.