General strike over housing hits Spain ahead of election

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Protesters disrupted the morning commute for hundreds of thousands of Spaniards on Wednesday as a general strike centred on the country's chronic housing crisis began weeks before…

Protesters disrupted the morning commute for hundreds of thousands of Spaniards on Wednesday as a general strike centred on the country's chronic housing crisis began weeks before a snap election.

Unions reported a "massive" early uptake in Spain's first nationwide 24-hour stoppage since 2012, which also aims to raise pressure on wages and public services, but business leaders played down the participation.

The size of demonstrations planned in Madrid and Barcelona will be seen as an indicator of public discontent before the November 29 vote, which the right-wing opposition is predicted to win.

The impact on industry and services in the European Union's fourth-largest economy will also be scrutinised, as pickets were organised at logistics centres, industrial estates and on motorways across the country.

In Madrid, dozens of protesters braved the rain and blocked a main road leading into the centre of the Spanish capital, causing tailbacks, but many shops opened as normal.

Public transport suffered disruption even with the implementation of minimum service requirements for commuter trains, metros and buses.

In Barcelona, the metro and bus networks were out of action until the late afternoon after offering minimum services during the morning rush hour.

In contrast, Madrid's metro reported that 93 percent of its trains ran in the early morning, although passenger numbers were down by around half.

UGT union leader Pepe Alvarez told public broadcaster RTVE that the participation was "massive", with a "total" stoppage in some regions making the strike "a huge success".

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