The government had cleared most of its diary before the general strike began, leaving only two ministers with official engagements abroad. José Manuel Albares was in Belgium and Luis Planas was on an official visit to Turkey. The 24-hour stoppage on 11 November was Spain’s first nationwide general strike in 14 years, with CCOO and UGT as its principal organizers.
Ministers said they would not join the stoppage and would work from their offices. On the day itself, Moncloa offered no assessment of the strike, saying that comment was a matter for the unions. Its only public response to the dispute was the phrase “Máximo respeto”, translated from Spanish as “Maximum respect”. Before the strike, government spokesperson Elma Saiz had described the protest as being in favour of citizens’ rights, while Social Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy had expressed strong support for the mobilization and urged participation in defence of the right to housing.
That silence came after several days of advocacy by Pedro Sánchez and other government figures. In a video shared on social media on the Monday before the strike, the prime minister urged people to take to the streets and said Spain’s rights and freedoms had not been won automatically. He warned of cuts and privatisations, with footage showing Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Santiago Abascal. Donald Trump and Javier Milei also appeared. Sánchez had defended the right to strike before the action, while Yolanda Díaz encouraged participation.
Félix Bolaños, then minister for the Presidency, backed the causes cited by unions and argued that people wanted decent wages and affordable housing. Their demands also included stronger tenant protections, more public housing, action against real-estate speculation and an increase in the statutory minimum wage. He criticised the PP and Vox for opposing the strike and the prospect of reasonably priced housing.
The PSOE’s national leadership made no public statement during the stoppage. Ferraz had expressed support for the strike beforehand, describing it as being in favour of everyone’s rights rather than directed against anyone. Housing affordability was the central issue in the mobilization, alongside wages and the cost of living. Tenant protests had intensified after the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, who reportedly died in hospital days later.
Some socialist representatives showed their support in regional institutions. In the Valencian parliament, PSOE deputies left a plenary session shouting their backing for the general strike. In the Andalusian parliament, socialist seats were empty during a debate on the regional budget. The strike coalition also included tenant organizations and labor groups such as CGT, CNT, Co.Bas, CIG, ELA and LAB. Separate reporting on participation recorded that one of 39 employees at Salamanca firm Metabos joined the stoppage.
The government’s Sumar component spoke out more forcefully on the day. Mónica García, then health minister and leader of Más Madrid, called for people to defend the legacy of previous generations and endorsed the strike. Pablo Bustinduy, then minister for Social Rights, responded to a report on the strike’s economic cost by arguing that workers create wealth through their time and effort while owners retain it. CCOO and UGT estimated that around four million workers took part in the 24-hour stoppage. CNN reported demonstrations and disruption affecting sectors including transport, ports, schools and manufacturing.
The stoppage came 48 hours before the 29N election campaign began. The PP described it as a preventive strike against a future government and accused CCOO and UGT of acting in support of their respective parties after eight years of left-wing government. Vox secretary-general Ignacio Garriga called it a government-organised “general circus” and described the unions as its mouthpieces. The strike took place less than three weeks before the scheduled 29 November general election.
On the strike day, Sánchez’s public post on X concerned a separate matter: the Fiscalía had opened proceedings over the dissemination of child sexual abuse material on TikTok.
