Barcelona descended into violence as masked demonstrators hurled firebombs, torched barricades and clashed with police during Spain’s first general strike in 14 years, as anger over soaring rents and the cost of living spilt onto the streets of the country’s biggest cities.
Balaclava-clad rioters launched fireworks towards officers and threw Molotov cocktails through shop windows as darkness fell in the Catalan capital.
Looters also targeted businesses, with an Apple store in the prestigious Passeig de Gràcia boulevard set alight. Police arrested eight people in the area alone, as officers made dozens of arrests across the country.
The disorder marked a dramatic escalation in a nationwide 24-hour walkout that brought employees out of shops, airports and transport hubs, with millions of Spaniards expected to take part in protests against the worsening housing crisis and rising household bills.
The scale of the demonstrations remained disputed. Activist groups estimated that about 400,000 people had taken to the streets of Barcelona, while Catalan authorities put the figure closer to 55,000. In Madrid, officials said 120,000 people had participated in protests throughout the day.
“We’ve completely brought the city to a standstill,” one demonstrator in the Spanish capital said. “Everyone’s out there, despite the rainy weather; everyone’s out on the streets.”
Trade unions hailed the stoppages as a major success. Unai Sorda, secretary-general of CCOO, said participation had “exceeded the labour unions‘ expectations”. The CCOO and UGT, two of Spain’s largest union organisations, said walkouts had brought several industries close to a halt.
They reported stoppages of 90 per cent in the automotive and port sectors, 85 per cent in meat processing, 82 per cent in waste collection and 75 per cent in energy.
The employers’ organisation CEOE offered a sharply different assessment, claiming that only 5 per cent of the country’s workers had joined the strike and dismissing it as a “failure”.
Behind the industrial action lies mounting frustration over housing costs, which have become a flashpoint in Spain’s major urban centres. Average rents have nearly doubled over the past decade, placing increasing pressure on tenants in Madrid and Barcelona.
Public anger intensified after a video circulated online in September showing an elderly grandmother being forcibly evicted from her home following a reported 275 per cent increase in her rent. Ms Abascal was taken to hospital after the court-ordered eviction and died on Saturday.
The case has become a symbol of the housing insecurity fuelling the protests, with activists accusing landlords, property companies and politicians of failing to protect tenants.
“This strike is against rent seekers, against real estate speculators, against the large companies that get rich by selling properties and, of course, against all the levels of government,” housing activist Valeria Racu told reporters in Madrid.
“We are here to show that we have the capacity to mark our own agenda and we are going to keep doing so no matter who governs.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has faced growing pressure to respond to the crisis. His socialist government attempted to push through emergency housing reforms, but the proposals were defeated in parliament.
Sánchez subsequently called a snap general election, leaving the housing crisis at the centre of an increasingly volatile political debate.
The strike has exposed the depth of public frustration, while the violence in Barcelona has underscored the risks of a housing crisis that is becoming an increasingly combustible issue for Spain’s government.
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