Hundreds of people taking part in the 24-hour general strike called for this Wednesday across the country have disrupted vehicle traffic on the Gran Vía, one of the capital’s main avenues, chanting slogans such as "Today we don’t consume, today we don’t work".
The attendees have advanced along this central route in Madrid, forming a human chain with arms interlinked, under the rain and shouting "Strike, strike, general strike".
As the march moved forward, several businesses in this area, one of the most commercial in the city, have lowered their shutters to prevent possible incidents, a gesture that protesters have responded to with applause.
Officers of the UIP of the National Police (riot police) have deployed a large security cordon at the head of the demonstration, with the aim of preventing disturbances.
Among the participants were members of the Sindicato de Inquilinas de Madrid, which had called on social media to paralyze the city center from 12, urging "not to consume in shops or produce in the premises".
When the column was heading toward Cibeles, National Police officers blocked its advance, so the route was diverted to Plaza de Callao. Along that stretch, slogans such as "Not one more eviction" could be heard.
At this point, dozens of public education teachers have also joined in, identifiable by their green T-shirts, who shortly beforehand had staged a protest on Metro Line 5 in Madrid to demand that "without housing, there is no education", as part of their fifth week of indefinite strike and coinciding with the day of general stoppage.