At around 9:00 p.m., the Ateneo La Maliciosa in Madrid was full of activists in favor of the right to housing. They hugged each other, cried and wiped away their tears. Shortly before the start of the press conference called by the Tenants' Union, the death of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman who has ignited the fight against the housing crisis in Spain, emerged. The outrage over their eviction and the subsequent rejection of the housing decrees by the majority of Congress led to demonstrations whose main slogan was: “Towards the general strike.”
The Tenants' Union, together with representatives of CGT, Solidaridad Obrera and CO.BAS, has confirmed the strike on November 11 and has vindicated Maricarmen's legacy. The strike also has the support of CC OO and UGT, which distributed a statement at the end of the day, but did not participate in the press conference.
Alicia del Río, spokesperson for the Confederation of Tenants' Unions, the group that has carried out the massive protests over the housing crisis, said: "It is evident that we have to start with a few words to our colleague Maricarmen. Speculation and rentism kill." Del Río added: "Speculation costs us our lives. Maricarmen's memory remains with us and makes us fight harder."
Regarding the strike, the union spokesperson has called on workers to participate: “We call on people moved by the eviction of Maricarmen so that there is no more Maricarmen.” "The price of housing," added Del Río, "is rising at full speed while salaries are stagnant. It is the main factor of impoverishment of the population. There is no choice but to increase the pressure."
The general strike of November 11 is the first supported by the majority unions in 14 years. The Basque unions LAB and ELA, the Galician CIG and CUT, also support the strike, while CSIF, USO and Fetico officials have already expressed their rejection. The general strike will take place just two days before the start of the election campaign on November 29.
Miguel Fadrique, general secretary of CGT, a union that has long supported the general strike when asked by the Tenants' Union, also participated in the press conference. "This general strike is urgent and cannot be delayed any longer," said this trade unionist, who added: "Under the self-proclaimed most progressive government in history, there are still many evictions. I don't know what's so progressive about that." Andrea Zayas, from the state management of CO.BAS, also participated in the press conference; and Álvaro Ferreira, secretary of social action of Solidaridad Obrera.
In a statement distributed shortly before the press conference led by the Tenants' Union, CC OO and UGT have indicated that "the general strike of November 11 is the response to the insatiable real estate greed that speculates with one of the main rights of citizenship, making access to decent housing for the majority practically impossible." “CCOO and UGT call on the men and women of our country to mobilize for better salaries, for decent housing and for price control in the face of inflation that weighs down our purchasing power,” the majority centers have added.
Throughout the afternoon, other unions, such as the Galician CIG, have confirmed their support for the strike on November 11. “We want to live with dignity to face the current context of social emergency, in which the unstoppable increase in prices and difficulties in accessing housing are impoverishing the working class and making a dignified life impossible for the majority of society,” says the Galician union in a statement distributed this Wednesday. The Basque LAB has expressed itself in similar terms: "In Euskal Herria, thousands of citizens are being denied access to housing. We are in the midst of an emergency and in Euskal Herria there are objective and subjective conditions to give new impetus to the fight to bring about structural changes."
