The opposition reacts to the strike: "It is a general circus in favor of the government of Spain"

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 seven years of government, the unions have decided now to call the protest and that, in their view, the complaint does not target the executive but the opposition. "It is a great circus in favor of the government of Spain," has openly declared the general secretary of Vox, Ignacio Garriga. "Subsidies to the 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 Article 14, the spokesperson for the popular party, Borja Sémper, warned that "the union elite is causing irreparable" and "very deep" damage to the trade union movement because it takes away its "credibility": "It is electoral." He also set social networks on fire with an image created by Artificial Intelligence in which three union members are seen eating seafood.

The Spanish government, without an agenda

At the same time, silence reigns in the Spanish government. For now, there are no official statements, but all the ministers have cleared their agendas 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 general strike is the Minister of Health and member of Sumar, Mónica García. "Rights are conquered [...]. A strike like no other," she asserted.

For its part, Podemos has also supported the strike. In statements to the media, the candidate for the elections, Irene Montero, denounced "police violence" against the information pickets that tried to stop the activity at MercaMadrid. In fact, the unions have spoken of a "scandal" regarding the police action, which involved the use of pepper spray, and have announced that they will seek criminal liability.

The day in Madrid

Beyond that, for now the day in Madrid has unfolded more or less peacefully, although at noon the tension between the police and several protesters who blocked Gran Via increased. Early in the morning, the Tenants' Union also broke into the A-42 in Carabanchel to prevent people from entering the city to work. "We must change the housing model," said the spokesperson, Alicia del Río, in a video shared through their communication channels.

At Atocha station, there were fewer people than on normal days and trains were leaving in trickles. Miguel Ángel Aguilar is a worker who was going to Guadalajara today from Madrid's Atocha station and explains to ARA that he will not be able to travel. However, he understands the reasons for the strike. He came 25 years ago with an employment contract from Peru to work at the Getafe slaughterhouse and believes that the main problem in Spain is housing. "With a salary of 1,240 euros per month, it is not enough to pay for apartments costing 1,200 euros... that is why people have to live in rooms," he laments. He also believes that price containment measures do not work because no one monitors the landlords. "No one will report them," he states. "The apartment is the daily dilemma for the Spanish people, it causes stress and headaches," he concludes.

The Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid was closed and some tourists waited at the doors in case it ended up opening. Rossana, from Italy, hoped to be able to enter in a conversation with this newspaper: Monday was a holiday and it was closed; yesterday, Tuesday, she went to the Prado Museum and today she had planned for the Reina Sofia Museum. She is leaving in the afternoon for her home. The Prado Museum was indeed open. About twenty tourists were queuing to get tickets at the ticket offices, which were operating normally. Inside, however, there were rooms closed because there are workers who have exercised their right to strike. As for the shops, most were open.