Students Block Barcelona’s Diagonal Ahead of Nov. 11 General Strike
About 100 students blocked Avinguda Diagonal near Palau Reial on Nov. 10, halting traffic and the tram a day before the Nov. 11 general strike.
About 100 students blocked Avinguda Diagonal in Barcelona on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 10, in support of the general strike called for Nov. 11, according to the outlet Metrópoli Abierta. The blockade stopped all road traffic and the tram on one of the city’s main arteries and caused tailbacks.
The protest took place at Palau Reial, around 12:00. It was called by the Comité de Huelga del Campus Diagonal (strike committee) of the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), the report says.
What happened on the Diagonal
The demonstrators placed barriers across the full width of the avenue, which cut off cars and the tram line alike. They also lit smoke flares and set off firecrackers, Metrópoli Abierta reported.
Banners at the protest read “Campus Diagonal a la vaga general” (Campus Diagonal to the general strike) and “Campus Diagonal contra el rendisme i el capital,” among others. Chants included “Habitatge gratuït i universal,” which means free and universal housing. Housing was also the theme of a separate action the same outlet mentioned: activists occupied the headquarters of Foment del Treball, the Catalan employers’ organization, to demand wage clauses tied to the IPC (the consumer price index) and to address the price of housing.
What else is planned around the strike
Metrópoli Abierta linked the protest to coverage of preparations for Nov. 11. According to its headlines, TMB (Barcelona’s bus and metro operator) has warned of waits of up to 30 minutes on the metro because of the general strike.
The same outlet reported that the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalonia’s police) are deploying more than 9.000 officers and have set alert level 4 for a day they describe as “atípica” (atypical). Another of its pieces says that the rail dispute reaches beyond Nov. 11, with several strikes threatening the sector until the end of the year. The report on the Diagonal protest does not give details of those rail strikes.
Why it matters for people in Barcelona
The Diagonal cuts across the city and carries the tram, so a full blockade at Palau Reial affects drivers, tram passengers and anyone crossing that part of the city. The report does not say how long the blockade lasted or whether the barriers were cleared.
For Nov. 11, the figures published so far point to disruption on public transport. TMB expects metro waits of up to 30 minutes, and the Mossos have prepared a large deployment of more than 9.000 officers under alert level 4. People who commute, travel or have appointments on that day are the ones most exposed to delays.
The students’ slogans and the Foment del Treball occupation show that housing costs and wages are part of what the protesters are demanding, alongside support for the strike itself. The sources do not list the formal demands of the strike’s organizers, so this article does not attempt to summarize them.
What to watch next
The general strike takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 11. TMB and the Mossos are the sources to follow for service updates and security measures, and Metrópoli Abierta’s coverage points to further rail strikes after that date, though it does not give their dates in the report on the Diagonal protest.
Source: Metrópoli Abierta
