The general strike heats up the 29-N campaign: "You will be four more years eating opposition"

MadridThe general strike called by unions takes place two days before the start of the electoral campaign on November 29, which places it in the middle of the political battle. Furthermore, for the opposition, the mobilization is an instrument at the service of Pedro Sánchez's Spanish government: their argument is that, after eight years of government, the unions have decided to call the protest now and not before; and that, in their view, the union complaint is not aimed at the executive but at the opposition. In this context, the clash between the left and the right during this day was not long in coming. The PP has ignited social media with an image made by artificial intelligence in which three unionists are seen eating seafood. "The critical moment of the strike is approaching, the appetizer," they declared. The PSOE has also retaliated through social media: "You will be eating opposition for four more years".

For the Socialists, the PP's message shows that the workers of Spain are "too big for it" and predicted that on November 29th the left will manage to "stop" the right. The Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, on Tuesday night on TVE's 24h channel, also insisted on the same idea and called for mobilization: "We will stop the ultra wave, we will win and we will govern". For Ada Colau, candidate of the Broad Front, whoever insults the unions shows that they are afraid of the mobilization of the left.

From the socialist and left-wing benches, then, they interpret this Wednesday's mobilization as an indicator that the game is still on for the upcoming November 29th elections. Although all polls point to a victory for the PP and Vox –a new one from the CIS will be released this Thursday before the campaign begins–, they consider that everything will be very tight and that the left and the nationalists can still add up at the polls if there is a major mobilization. For this reason, they see the general strike and the demand for salary and housing rights that have characterized the demonstrations as positive. They interpret, from the PSOE, that they and their partners can stand as guarantors after two legislatures. In fact, the socialists will not remain idle in government, despite the electoral call: Pedro Sánchez plans to hold up to two extraordinary council of ministers meetings before the elections. The first will be on Friday, the same day the electoral campaign begins, with the intention of taking social measures. This same Tuesday, the Minister of Social Rights, from Sumar, Pablo Bustinduy, already announced relevant measuresin this regard: from now on, single-parent families with two or more children will be equated to large families.

As usual, the interpretation made by the right is the opposite. "It is a great circus in favor of the government of Spain", declared openly the secretary general of Vox, Ignacio Garriga. "Subsidies to unions have multiplied by four thanks to the government", added José María Figaredo, who went to make the statements from a market in León, in Mansilla de las Mulas.

The PP has insisted on the same message. In an informative meeting of Artículo 14, the spokesperson for the Popular Party, Borja Sémper, has warned that "the elite of the unions is doing irreparable" and "very deep" damage to the trade union movement because it deprives them of "credibility": "It is electoral". Miguel Tellado, the secretary general of the Popular Party, was also harsh: "The unions have decided to wake up from their nap after eight years without taking to the streets [...]. They are mobilizing against the true party of the workers, which is the PP". The secretary general of the UGT, Pep Álvarez, has called their words "outrageous": "Let the PP come down from the throne, it hasn't won yet. I don't know how one can be so imbecilic. What arrogance", exclaimed the union leader on TVE.

Regarding the Catalan parties, Esquerra has supported the strike, along with the Commons, the CUP and the PSC, while Junts, the PP, Vox and Aliança have not backed it. "We are taking to the streets to defend ourselves against a life that is impossible", said the general secretary of the republicans, Elisenda Alamany, who demonstrated at the rally in Barcelona. "It makes all the sense in the world", added the leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras.

The Spanish government, without an agenda

Although the PSOE has come out to publicly fight against the PP and Vox, the Spanish government has opted for silence. For now, there are no official statements, but all ministers have cleared their schedules in solidarity with the strike. Only the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, have maintained their meetings because they were international in scope: the former in Brussels to meet with European commissioners and in Paris to participate in a peace forum for Palestine, while Planas is on an official trip to Turkey.

The one who has openly called for support for the mobilization is the Minister of Health and member of Sumar, Mónica García. "Rights are won [...]. A strike like a house," she stated.

For its part, Podemos has also supported the striking workers, but instead of firing at the right-wing and far-right opposition, it has fired at the PSOE. In statements to the media, the election candidate Irene Montero, who also attended the demonstration, denounced "police violence" against the information pickets that have tried to stop the activity of Mercamadrid or other businesses this Wednesday throughout Spain, as she considered that whoever is on strike is fighting for the rights of all workers and interprets that the police have not acted with responsibility.

"Broken ribs and open heads for exercising the right to strike [...]. The repression is unbearable and the fault lies with the government –he lamented–. The Interior Minister must resign". From Sumar, Emilio Delgado also lamented the "violence against the working class" and asked the Spanish president directly to dismiss Fernando Grande-Marlaska. In fact, the unions have spoken of a "scandal" due to the police action, which has deployed pepper spray on several occasions, and have announced that they will seek criminal liability.