The general strike in defense of housing and wages called for this 11 November has left in Madrid a morning of pickets, traffic cuts and lower economic activity, although public services have operated with relative normality under constant rain.
The call is set in a preelection context, amid accusations of "political strike" by the employers' association and the regional Government, and comes after the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, 87 years old, from her home in the Retiro district, to which she would not return after dying a few days later in hospital. This eviction triggered a camp lasting more than a month at Puerta del Sol and was the trigger for the general strike promoted by the Sindicato de Inquilinas and class unions.
The organizations calling the strike have stated that the work stoppage is having "broad support with figures close to a record" and have defined it as a "success" with "very positive" data both on the night shift and in the first hours of the day, placing participation between 65% and 80%.
By contrast, the Confederación Empresarial de Madrid-CEOE (CEIM) reduces the impact to less than 10% in the private sector and argues that this "political call" constitutes a "serious mistake". For its part, the Community of Madrid puts the level of follow-up in the regional administration at 9.54%.
Mobilization since early morning
The first actions began in the early hours at two key points: Mercamadrid and the depots of the Empresa Municipal de Transportes (EMT). At both sites, clashes occurred between police officers and information pickets.
At the Fuencarral and Carabanchel depots, the unions have denounced "police violence" and obstacles to carrying out their work. At Mercamadrid, tensions have been higher: 15 demonstrators required medical assistance and one of them was detained after throwing a fence at an officer. CC.OO. has said it will file a criminal complaint for these events.
Despite these incidents, the city has been gradually resuming its activity. At Mercamadrid, the pickets have not managed to block either the entry of goods or access by shoppers, although a slight reduction in commercial activity has been recorded, after some preventive provisioning had already taken place on Tuesday in the run-up to the call.
A similar scenario of normality has been seen in industrial estates in the south such as La Carpetanía, in Getafe, where Airbus is located, or Marconi, in the district of Villaverde. In the first, the pickets at the access points made the day of the general strike evident; in the second, it was above all the presence of the police that marked the image.
In central Madrid, shops, cafeterias, restaurants, and large retail stores have raised their shutters, although with fewer customers than usual and with some stickers and posters in support of the stoppages.
Road closures and public transport operating
Where the strike has been felt most has been on the road network. Pickets have interrupted traffic at several points in the region, with occasional closures on access roads via the A-5, in Alcorcón, and the A-6, at the level of Moncloa-Aravaca. There have also been incidents on sections of the M-30 at the level of Puente de Vallecas, Ventas, Legazpi, and avenida de la Ilustración.
Likewise, there have been closures on the A-6 with entry to Princesa; on the A-5, in both directions at the level of El Olivillo; and on the A-42, in Santa María de la Cabeza and later in Plaza Elíptica. These interruptions, together with the smaller number of people traveling to their workplaces, have caused a 13% drop in traffic in the capital.
These incidents contrast with the operation of the Empresa Municipal de Transportes, which has put 85% of its drivers into service, while 93% of the staff of bicimad, cranes, and parking facilities has gone to work. Demand, on the other hand, has collapsed, with 70% fewer users than last year.
The Metro has also felt the strike, with a 51% drop in the number of travelers compared with a usual working day, although the network has operated at 93% during peak hour.
Major hubs such as Atocha and Chamartín have been practically “empty,” while long lines formed at stops for interurban buses. Both Cercanías and the interurban lines have applied minimum services throughout the day, which for now are being met without causing serious problems for users.
Hospitals without any disturbances and tension at the university
The region’s main hospitals have started the day with less patient traffic and very limited monitoring of the strike among their staff. Minimum services equivalent to weekend and holiday staffing have been set up, along with on-call staff and a maximum of an additional 35%.
At the Provincial Court of Madrid, activity has been the usual: corridors with lawyers, court solicitors, and officials, and trials being held normally.
Meanwhile, at Ciudad Universitaria the morning began with a tense atmosphere and a presence of the National Police, after a group of people tried to block the street of Profesor Aranguren.
The tension shifted to midday on Gran Vía, where police charges occurred and two arrests were made during a protest by hundreds of people who were supporting the strike and who kept this main thoroughfare blocked for several hours.
The demonstrators blocked practically the entire street for about two hours, shouting “Hoy no se consume, hoy no se trabaja” and “Queremos las llaves de todo Madrid”.
In total, over the course of the morning there were nine arrests linked to the general strike and one person had to be taken to a hospital with a head wound on the Gran Vía area, according to sources from the Superior Police Headquarters and Samur-Protección Civil cited by Europa Press.
Political clash: criticism of unions and Government
While UGT and CC.OO. have defended the work stoppage day, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has aligned with the employers’ association, underlining the “normality” and describing the call as a “serious bang from the unions and from Sánchez”.
He has admitted that “some incidents” have occurred, such as at Mercamadrid and at the EMT depots, but he has insisted that “It doesn’t seem like there’s a strike”.
In the same vein, the spokesperson for the regional Executive, Miguel Ángel García Martín, has spoken of a “resounding failure” both of the trade union federations and of the Government of Pedro Sánchez, which “had encouraged it”.
“Today the unions, as before this strike, have put workers at risk, have put self-employed workers at risk, have put companies and the public services of this country at risk for mere political opportunism, which once again shows that they are nothing more than a mere appendix at the service of sanchism,” the spokesperson for the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso has said.
The day will continue in the afternoon with a demonstration that will leave at 18:00 hours from Atocha to Plaza Elíptica. The march will take place under adverse weather conditions: the entire Community of Madrid will be on yellow alert for rain from 15:00 to 24:00 hours, to which another wind alert will be added starting at 18:00 hours.