General strikes and the struggle against austerity in Spain

I can see the photos now, joder. Parece bastante fuerte.

How many people do you think were on the demo? It looks big.
What union is AST?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2awYYoykAwY&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klJWa3_ORpc&feature=player_embedded

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/942287/0/manifestacion/pensiones/madrid/

From Incontrolado in Madrid

People are saying there were between 10000 and 20000 people. Taking part were some sections of Madrid CNT but not all of them, and also the CGT, Solidaridad Obrera, and a long list of base unions and social movements. You could say it is the biggest demo against the cuts and the crisis which hasn´t been called by Comisiones Obreras and the UGT.

Have there been any joint demos by the CNT, the CGT and SO in Madrid before?

lol It's a 1928 deserted building...What is important is that the demo to squat it again was illegal, however it was massively attended and achieved its goal.

I don't know if people have been following what's going on in Valencia. Protests of predominantly school children against cuts were violently attacked by police last week and since then there have been ongoing protests against police brutality that have met with similarly brutal responses. Parts of the university are under occupation at the moment.
Videos and Spanish reportage here:
http://www.publico.es/espana/423041/la-policia-vuelve-a-cargar-contra-los-estudiantes-en-valencia

El Pais has a couple of short English language reports on the Valencia protests:

Valencia police clash with students protesting social cutbacks

Police clash with students once more as Valencia protests swell

There are photos going round on facebook of the police attacking a blind man on one of the protests

Report and photos on alasbarricadas

http://www.alasbarricadas.org/noticias/node/19736

Also

videos

http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23Valencia

Spain budget cuts spawn 'Valencian Spring' protests (AFP)

Spanish police brutalize student protesters in Valencia (Roarmag)

alasbarricadas thread (machine translation)

CNT condemns police and institutional violence against students and workers in Valencia

Sometimes I truly confused why people don't prepare to such an actions of the police. It's fucking plain and simple: the filth must be stopped, disarmed, and paralyzed. Fuck the police!

Really? IDK, I've been out on a few demos and the majority of them were not attacked by the police. I imagine most non-anarchos don't expect to be assaulted when they go to a protest. The first time I was attacked by a police officer, it rocked my world in a serious way and I hated the cops at that point.

Another general strike call

http://www.anarkismo.net/article/22056

Maybe part of the subtext here is that Galicia and the Basque country have significant nationalist/regionalist unions and it can make sense to call a general strike, even without the participation of the mainstream UGT and CC.OO.

So today was a European general strike or something right?

Either way it's kicking off in Barcelona right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-2vUjmvOIM

#vaga29f says that the Universitat de Barcelona rectory's been occupied too...

CNT call a general strike for the 29th: http://www.cnt.es/noticias/la-cnt-convoca-huelga-general-el-pr%C3%B3ximo-29-de-marzo

EDIT: OK looks like call is coming from main two unions feds, but CNT are also calling one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17315961

General strike is on for the 29th looks like.

CGT just held a special congress to discuss the general strike and that congress issued a call for a general strike on March 29.

v quick before I go to work

updates from the south:

at midnight.
MercaSevilla shut by more than a thousand pickets, some trouble with the police
100% strike by the rubbish collectors in Cadiz
pickets going round closing bars at midnight
Jaen- 100 pickets make sure the post service is closed. Police search and arrest pickets.
1 am seville 70% of the night shift at Renault is on strike
2 am three arrests in Malaga of young pickets trying to close down bars
Pickets from the 15-M movement in Seville go round Triana closing bars
4:45 am Cordoba MercaCordoba not a single lorry enters. Three arrests.
8 am University of Seville 100% on strike

will translate more in the afternoon

electricity consumption is down 26% which means a lot of industry is not running.

Students blocked the main road into Madrid this morning causing a massive fuck-off traffic jam..

Also big transport and airline strikes by the sound of things..

Osuna (small town in Andalucia) 300 pickets have closed down all the supermarkets which were open and now are headed for the mercadona in Estepa.

Madrid- lot of police charges, people injured and arrested.

According to Soli Obrera the strike in the transport sector has been very strong.

There was a "bicipicket" of 200 cyclists going round the M30 motorway at nine in the morning blocking the motorway!

In the bus stations pickets "sabotaging" (don't know if breaking, painting over or what) windscreens of buses, these buses have had to stop running.

Electricity consumption lower than the last strike which means less industry running.

Police charges in the bus depots with horses, pickets arrested.

12 people arrested last night on pickets in Madrid

Protesters blocking Madrid motorway..

Uni students march down main road in Barcelona, also blocking traffic..

translations from Solidaridad Obrera

Young picket badly injured by police in Vitoria

Union lawyers say they don't know how many people have been arrested as the police are not letting them speak to people but that it is a lot more than last time.

La Rioja- strike is much stronger than last time. Only two newspapers for sale and pickets trying to stop distribution of those.

Madrid- very few people have gone to work in RTVE (buses) hardly any buses are running. A security guard threatened pickets with an iron bar.

(I think these are towns near Madrid or barrios of Madrid)
Carabanchel- two pickets arrested at Mercadona

Alcorcon- police threaten pickets at gunpoint. At midnight about 150 people picketing bus depot and stopping servicios minimos from leaving. Someone was filming pickets, they demanded to see some identification, this person refused, police then started shoving elderly pickets and arrested a younger picket who tried to defend them. The pickets gathered round and the police pulled out their guns. The police continued harrasing the pickets violently throughout the morning. Later pickets went to ALcampo where they had heard that the company was threatening workers if they went on strike. There were a lot of police waiting at ALcampo.
People said they couldn't ever remember such a strong strike in Alcorcon and they also remarked on the aggression of the police which was much worse that 2010 (which was no picnic either, translator's note)

Madrid- strike "massive" in industrial sector, much bigger than last time.
Ports shut down in Valencia, Algeciras, Vigo, Barcelona.
Burning barricades in Seville.

dp

Sounds promising, seems much more widespread and militant than the last couple of one day affairs.

Thanks to fingers for all the translations, and others for posting photos/updates

The Guardian reports that Greek unions have been watching the situation in Spain:

That looks fucking wicked.

Thanks for the translations Malone.

In the end, who was this strike endorsed by? Any of the major union federations?