The far-right Vox criminalizes the 11N general strike for housing, calls it a "general circus" and points to unions as a "violent mafia"

The far-right Vox has targeted unions this 11N. Its president, Santiago Abascal, has called the organizers of the general strike for housing and wages "mafiosos" and has accused the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, of sending them against workers and merchants. In the midst of the strike, party officials have again called for public funding to be withdrawn from the unions, a measure that Vox already implemented when it governed with the PP in Castilla y León and which the Justice corrected.

"How can we not call Sánchez a dictator," Abascal wrote on X, sharing images of clashes during the pickets. In the same message, he spoke of "thugs" and a "violent mafia." Last week, he had already urged the unions to call off the strike and had warned them that Vox would take note if there was a change of government. On Tuesday, on 'Herrera en COPE', he maintained that the strike "should not be legal." Article 28 of the Constitution recognizes the right of workers to strike to defend their interests.

The general secretary of Vox, Ignacio Garriga, has called the strike a "general circus" from the Torrefiel Municipal Market, in Valencia, and has described Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the General Union of Workers (UGT) as "militias" of the Executive. In Alcalá de Guadaíra, the party's spokesperson in the Madrid Assembly, Isabel Pérez Moñino, has called them "union parasites" and has issued another warning two days before the start of the 29N campaign. "Their gravy train is going to end," she said.

Vox again calls for the withdrawal of union subsidies

Vox's economic spokesperson, José María Figaredo, has accused the unions of having quadrupled their "turnover" in exchange for remaining silent before Sánchez. From the market of Mansilla de las Mulas, in León, he contrasted the subsidies with the income of merchants who depend on opening and selling every day. He asked for votes for Vox and cited as an example the ministries that the party led in Castilla y León. In Murcia, spokesperson Rubén Martínez Alpañez brought the proposal to the plenary session of the Regional Assembly and demanded that the Government of Fernando López Miras abolish aid to unions.

The 32 million euros cited by Figaredo and Garriga are the maximum of the 2026 state call for union activities. In 2018, that same program had a cap of 8.88 million, so the allocation has multiplied by 3.6. Both calls, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), establish the same distribution criterion among organizations that apply for aid: their union representativeness.

Vox's official account released another figure when disseminating a video of MEP Jorge Buxadé. It attributed to Sánchez the delivery of 569 million euros to CCOO and UGT. The calculation published in October by the pseudomedia 'The Objective' adds aid from different administrations between 2018 and 2025 and includes federations, territorial organizations, and foundations linked to the unions. Vox has used that eight-year sum to present this Wednesday's strike as a mobilization paid with public money.

In Castilla y León, the Ministry of Employment, led by Vox, withdrew subsidies for the institutional participation of CCOO and UGT in 2023. The High Court of Justice ruled in favor of both unions in 2025 and forced the Junta to pay the outstanding amounts. In the case of CCOO, it recognized its right to receive 1.23 million euros, plus the corresponding update.

Unions claim the strike and ask Vox to listen to the streets

The strike was registered on October 19 at the Ministry of Labor. It was called by CCOO, UGT, the Confederation of Tenant Unions, and other trade union organizations to demand affordable rents, better wages, and the defense of public services. In Barcelona, Vox candidate for Congress Juanjo Aizcorbe presented the strike as an operation against the opposition and called the unions "transmission belts" of the Executive. In the Andalusian Parliament, spokesperson Javier Cortés also resorted to the "circus" to disqualify the absence of left-wing groups in the budget plenary session in support of the strike.

The general secretaries of CCOO and UGT, Unai Sordo and Pepe Álvarez, highlighted the follow-up of the strike in industry and ports. The Tenant Union estimated that about four million people supported it during the morning. Faced with the attacks, Álvarez claimed that "where there are unions, there are rights" and warned the PP and Vox that they will have to listen to those who have mobilized.

This Thursday, the Permanent Deputation of Congress will vote on the two housing decrees that the Government approved after the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, the case that prompted the protests that led to 11N. One expands protection against evictions and allows certain leases to be extended. The other establishes compensation for some tenants when the owner decides to terminate the contract. Vox voted against the first two versions on October 2.