Spain has made significant social and economic progress under Pedro Sánchez, but the housing crisis, wage pressures and insecurity show how much remains unfinished. The challenge for the labour movement is to defend what has been achieved while organising for what ordinary people still need.
Spain's streets are once again sending a message that politicians cannot afford to ignore. The housing crisis, rising rents and the growing difficulty of making a decent living have brought workers, tenants and young people into the streets, culminating in the November 11 general strike. The immediate trigger was the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman known as Maricarmen, from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades. Her case became a symbol of a much wider conflict: the right to a secure home against a housing market increasingly shaped by speculation and investment.But Spain's present situation cannot be understood simply as a story of government failure. Under Pedro Sánchez, the country has undergone a significant period of social and economic reform. The minimum wage has risen substantially, labour legislation has restricted the widespread use of temporary contracts, collective bargaining has been strengthened, and unemployment protection has been expanded. These changes have helped move Spain away from some of the most damaging features of the labour market inherited from earlier periods. They have also demonstrated that government policy, organised labour and social initiatives can work together to improve people's living and working conditions.
That progress should not be dismissed. Nor should the political space that has opened for trade unions, tenants' organisations, feminist groups, environmental movements and other social initiatives be taken for granted. A government that allows these forces to organise, negotiate and press for change creates opportunities for a more participatory and egalitarian society. Sánchez's record is not beyond criticism, but it is also not accurately described as a government that has done nothing for working people. The distinction matters because defending social progress and demanding further reform are not contradictory objectives.
The problem is that the reforms have not yet resolved some of Spain's deepest structural difficulties. Housing is now one of the clearest examples. A higher minimum wage offers little comfort to a young worker whose rent absorbs an ever-larger share of monthly income. More permanent employment contracts cannot, by themselves, guarantee a stable life when housing is unaffordable. Spain's labour market has improved, but unemployment remains high by international standards, and insecure work, low earnings in some sectors and regional inequalities continue to affect millions. The European Commission and the OECD have recognised both the improvements and the remaining weaknesses. The gap between economic progress and the everyday experience of ordinary households is where much of today's public frustration originates.
The comparison with the Indignados movement of 2011 is revealing. Fifteen years ago, much of the anger was expressed through broad, loosely organised protests against austerity, political corruption and the failure of institutions. Today's mobilisation has a more explicit working-class dimension. Young people who once hoped to buy a home are now struggling to afford a room. University qualifications no longer guarantee economic security, and a growing number of people who might once have considered themselves part of the middle class experience the insecurity traditionally associated with low-paid workers. The result is a renewed interest in collective organisation, tenants' unions, workplace representation and the language of social and economic rights.
This is where the labour movement has a central responsibility. The general strike should not be reduced to a political contest between Sánchez's government and its opponents, nor should it be treated as an opportunity to discredit every reform achieved in recent years. It should be a demonstration that workers have interests that extend beyond the electoral calendar and that those interests deserve to be heard whoever occupies the government benches. The participation of Spain's major trade unions, CCOO and UGT, alongside tenants' organisations and other groups, shows the importance of building alliances across workplaces and communities. Differences over strategy are inevitable, but they should not prevent cooperation on wages, housing, public services and workers' rights.
The demands are not mysterious. Spain needs housing policies that treat a home first as a place to live, not simply as an investment vehicle. It needs stronger protections against abusive rent increases and evictions, a substantial expansion of affordable public and social housing, and measures that discourage speculative practices. Workers need wages that keep pace with the cost of living, greater job security, stronger collective bargaining and a fairer distribution of the wealth they help create. Public education, health services and social protection must remain central to the country's development. And the people affected by these decisions must have meaningful opportunities to organise and influence them.
The militant organisations involved in the current protests are right to insist that a demonstration or a single day's strike cannot solve problems accumulated over decades. But lasting change does not require dismissing every reform as inadequate simply because it falls short of a revolutionary transformation. Reforms can improve lives, strengthen public expectations and give people the confidence and organisation to demand more. Equally, governments cannot expect social movements to remain permanently satisfied with the gains already delivered. The relationship between progressive government and organised society should be one of pressure, negotiation and continued improvement, not political obedience.
Spain has already shown that a different economic and social direction is possible. The task now is to make that progress durable and extend it to those who still find themselves excluded from its benefits. A strong labour movement is not an obstacle to a progressive government; it is one of the forces that can help such a government move further. And a government that genuinely wants a more egalitarian country should recognise that organised workers, tenants and citizens are not merely an audience to be mobilised during elections. They are essential participants in shaping the country's future.
No comments:
Post a Comment