The Tenants' Union denounces "police violence" in the general strike and warns "all governments" of a new cycle of struggles for housing

The spokesperson for the Tenants' Union, Alicia del Río, defended this Wednesday the scope of the general strike for housing and warned that its demands are directed at all administrations with responsibilities in the housing crisis. She also denounced the police action against pickets during the first hours of the day.

"These demands are against all governments, against employers, and against landlords," Del Río stated to the media. The spokesperson pointed to governments "of all colors" that, in her opinion, "by action or omission" have defended the interests of those who profit from housing.

Her message appeals to Pedro Sánchez's Government, but also to the autonomous communities and city councils, whose powers are decisive in addressing rising rents and expanding the public housing stock. The organization insists that it will maintain its demands regardless of who governs after the general elections on November 29.

The Tenants' Union demands a profound transformation of the housing model, with lower rents, indefinite contracts, and the mobilization of empty flats for those who need them. It also demands measures against speculation and the expansion of the public housing stock.

"Houses must be for living," Del Río defended, considering that policies applied for decades have turned housing into a business and have failed to guarantee access to it. For the spokesperson, this 11N opens "a new cycle of struggles" to achieve advances in rights "no matter who governs".

The housing movement estimates that some four million people had joined the strike during the morning and expects the figure to increase throughout the day. This is a provisional estimate by the organizers, who have called for filling the demonstrations planned for this afternoon in cities across the country.

CCOO and UGT have reported, for their part, high participation in sectors such as automotive, ports, and waste collection. Their first estimates point to 90% in the automotive industry and in the ports of Valencia and Algeciras. These are union data corresponding to the first hours of a strike whose scope varies by sector and territory.

The call, promoted by the tenant movement and supported by CCOO, UGT, and other unions, has brought to workplaces the protests that grew after the eviction of Maricarmen in Madrid. It is the first 24-hour general strike jointly called by the two main unions since November 2012, although other state-wide strikes have also been held in these years.

Del Río has denounced that during the day participants in the pickets were gassed and beaten and that police identifications occurred which she considers illegal. The spokeswoman also accused agents of acting without visible identification.

The Tenants' Union assures that at least eight people were injured in an intervention next to the EMT depots in Carabanchel, Madrid, and that they were transferred to Hospital 12 de Octubre with contusions and conditions related to the use of pepper spray. CCOO and UGT have also denounced charges at the Carabanchel and Fuencarral depots. According to information available early in the morning, neither the National Police nor the Government Delegation in Madrid had offered a version of these incidents.

The strike is also being held on the eve of the Congress's Permanent Deputation voting on the two housing decrees approved by the Executive. The organization maintains its demands before the Government that has promoted these measures, considering that deeper changes are needed to curb prices and protect tenants.

The Tenants' Union responds to the PP for its image of the strike

The confrontation over 11N has also moved to social media. The PP has published an image showing people in CCOO and UGT vests in front of a seafood platter to mock the unions and the call for the protest. The Madrid Tenants' Union has responded by accusing the popular party of resorting to artificial intelligence to ridicule the protest.

"Not even using AI do you stop smelling like a closed closet," the organization replied, asking the PP to address housing access difficulties. "Housing is a structural problem. Worry about your voters and not your friends in the hallways," it added.

Del Río also responded to the president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who asked Alberto Núñez Feijóo to end "union garbage." The spokesperson accused the right of questioning the rights of mobilization and assembly and defended the role of workers' organizations in the conquest of labor rights.