The Confederation of Tenant Unions (CSI), Food Justice, and Facua have made a public call this Tuesday for a joint consumption strike, which consists of not making purchases in supermarkets, hypermarkets, or large chains every Wednesday until the general strike day on November 11.
In this way, citizens are invited to avoid any purchases in large stores this Wednesday, October 28, and the following one, November 4, as part of the protest calendar leading up to the general strike for housing and the rising cost of living set for the 11th.
For November 11, the organizing groups are asking to completely halt consumption, both in physical establishments and in online purchases.
Support for local and proximity commerce
The groups promoting the shopping strike emphasize that the Wednesday campaign "is not against small businesses or against supermarket workers," whom they also call to join the general strike.
Therefore, they encourage redirecting purchases towards municipal markets, neighborhood stores, cooperatives, or direct sales channels from producers, and point out that on November 11, local commerce can support the protest by closing their businesses.
"The shopping strike is the strike of those who cannot strike at work," the organizations state, appealing especially to precarious workers, freelancers, unemployed people, pensioners, students, and caregivers to participate in the initiative.
The three entities have articulated this alliance based on the realization that "working no longer guarantees making ends meet." They denounce that rent consumes a good part of salaries and that the shopping basket continues to rise in price, "while a few are breaking profit records with what we need to live, a roof and a plate on the table."
In their argument, they recall that the cost of the shopping basket is now more than 40% higher than in 2019, while the average salary has only grown by 21.9% in that same period, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). They also add that general inflation stood at 4.9% in September.
They demand lower rents and limit profit margins
Among the main demands of the call is a 50% reduction in rents, linked to household incomes, in line with the demands of the general strike on November 11. They also demand price controls on the shopping basket, energy, and transportation.
Specifically, Justicia Alimentaria proposes a basic basket of food at a fair price, making it clear that any reduction should be applied to the profits of large distribution and not on what producers receive. Facua, for its part, proposes setting limits on the profit margins of large chains and implementing a dual labeling system that allows consumers to know the price paid at origin.
"The landlord and the boss are squeezing us from both sides. And at the supermarket checkout, too. If we stop buying at the same time, they notice," said Aldo Reverte, spokesperson for the Confederation of Tenant Unions.
In the same vein, the director of Justicia Alimentaria, Javier Guzmán, argues that "eating cannot be a privilege. The price reduction must come from the profits of the large distributors, not from those who produce the food."
Likewise, the general secretary of Facua, Rubén Sánchez, claims the right of the population to "know how much is paid in the field and how much is kept by large distribution," insisting on the urgency of establishing limits on the commercial margins of large surfaces.
The general strike on November 11 is driven by the Confederation of Tenant Unions and its territorial structures, along with CGT, CNT, CCOO, UGT, ELA, LAB, and CIG, among other trade union organizations.