Eyewitness in Madrid: The Masses Demand a General Strike

Maricarmen Abascla, an 87-year-old woman, was evicted from her home in Madrid on September 23. In the following two weeks, there have been continuous protests, with many youth, students, and workers setting up over a thousand tents at the protest camp at the Puerta del Sol.

Their anger is the result of years of policies that allow endless speculation in the housing market. Madrid’s rents have doubled in just a few years, and most people, especially the young and the old, struggle to find decent accommodation. Rental contracts have to be renewed at five-year intervals, giving landlords the opportunity to raise rents. If people can’t pay, the full power of the state is used to evict them.

That’s what happened to Maricarmen: after her apartment was bought by an investment fund, her rent was increased from 500 euros to 2,600 euros per month — in a place she had been living for 70 years! The eviction required 200 officers in full riot gear to violently remove more than 200 supporters standing in front of her building. This seven-hour operation was the fourth attempt at an eviction. Maricarmen was taken out in an ambulance without time to gather her belongings.

Maricarmen was supported by a movement, the Sindicato de Inquilinas or Tenants’ Union. The 87-year-old’s face became a symbol that inspired a mass movement. But hers was far from a unique case. The Spanish state carries out up to 50 evictions every day. The Tenants’ Union helps people pay their rent during court cases and also mobilizes against evictions. This group also called for the demonstrations that ended with a protest camp at Puerta del Sol.

Protesters are calling for a series of reforms which they call the “Maricarmen Decree” to ease the housing crisis. These demands include an automatic renewal of rental contracts and an end to evictions if a person has nowhere else to stay.

The Spanish government of the social democratic prime minister Pedro Sánchez tried to calm the situation by acting like it would concede to some of the demands — yet Sánchez’s proposed decrees fell far short of what the people wanted, and were rejected by congress on Friday anyway.

I travelled from Berlin to Madrid last Friday to join the protests in front of the congress. By then, the movement wanted more than the original demands for reforms. People knew the congress was going to reject them. Now people are calling for a general strike, because they realize the struggle for fair housing is connected to other sectors, like education and health care.

“Huelga general!” General strike. You could not walk around Madrid without hearing the demand. Left-wing organizations were demanding that the big unions, UGT and CCOO, which until now have remained loyal to the government, call a strike. The union bureaucrats responded to the pressure with the announcement that there will be a strike in November.

On Saturday, people across the Spanish state joined protests against the housing crisis. In Madrid alone, half a million people were on the street. I marched with the Revolutionary Workers Tendency (CRT), the sister organization of Left Voice. The contingent included workers from Airbus, teachers, and lots of youth and students. The whole capital was shaking with chants for a general strike like “Where is the UGT?,” “Madrid will be the graveyard of fascism!,” and others.

In Valencia, there was heavy state repression: the police attacked peaceful protesters with tear gas and batons. Lots of elderly people and kids were injured.

The ongoing encampment at Puerta del Sol has been compared to 15M when, on May 15, 2011, young people occupied squares across the Spanish state, including the Puerta del Sol, demanding democratic and social rights. Part of this movement was channeled into the neo-reformist party Podemos — a party that later ended up in government under Sánchez, where it betrayed its foundational principles.

The new movement is less likely to place its hopes in reformist electoral projects. People are talking about an alternative from below that represents the interests of the masses in the struggle against austerity. When a leader of the Tenants’ Union said the movement had “already won,” they were met with shouts of “no,” “we’re not going anywhere,” and “general strike.”

There have been attempts by proto-fascist groups like Núcleo Nacional and provocateurs like Vito Quiles to disrupt the encampment. They have faced such decisive responses that it is hard not to laugh at them when they start fleeing. The streets have not been safe spaces for fascists. That is how we fight the Far Right — not by voting for a reformist “lesser evil,” but by confronting fascists in the streets. 

The ”most progressive government in the history of Spain” under Pedro Sánchez has now lost so much support that it has called snap elections in November. This is an attempt to get people off the streets and pacify a movement that is heading towards a general strike. These “progressives” have shown over and over which side they are on: not with the workers but with the bosses. That’s why we need a revolutionary socialist organization that truly represents the interests of working people. 

An online comedian was joking that while rents are going up, chants for a “huelga general” are now living rent-free in everyone’s heads. I can confirm: As I walked around Madrid, the melody was always with me.

To keep the movement going and growing, it needs to connect with other struggles. Right now the potential is enormous. At Puerta de Sol, a seed is being planted that could change the situation in favor of the working masses.