Unions in Portugal and Spain prepare Iberian general strike

Information from the Spanish union states that in Portugal a general strike is already being considered for 11 November. Still, the final decision will be in the hands of the unions, who could align themselves with the Spanish to create a “mobilisation at the level of the Iberian Peninsula that would also be historic.”

Unai Sordo also mentioned, in an ironic tone, that the strike could be called the Saramago strike, in honour of the Nobel Prize for Literature, born in Portugal and who spent 20 years of his life in Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands. José Saramago was also a writer closely linked to the labour cause.

The strike in Spain was already scheduled, deliberately 18 days before the early elections called by Pedro Sánchez, after the Spanish parliament rejected measures proposed by the executive regarding the housing crisis.

Current manifestations

Currently, Portugal and Spain have spoken out in favour of improvements in housing. In both Portugal and Spain, protesters set up tents in the country's iconic squares for several nights, protesting the rising cost of living.

In both countries, protesters are asking for affordable housing, and they also denounce low wages, which are not enough to guarantee the basic needs of a human being, such as renting an apartment in urban centres.