The general strikes in Spain on September 29th was most likely the biggest local news story of the semester. The unions UGT and CCOO were responsible for organizing the strikes, but a number of individuals associated with Anarchist or Communist groups also came and it is believed that they were the ones purporting the violence. The purpose of the strike was to protest spending cuts made by the government. Spain currently has a Socialist government, and the unions feel that they are not getting enough in return for what they pay in taxes. The idea was to get a huge turnout of workers walking off the job on September 29th, and let the government see the power of the people. However, violence and chaos broke out and it was soon being talked about on national news websites.
The chaos began when protesters took control of the bank at the top of Las Ramblas. Some climbed to the top and painted “This is not a crisis, this is Capitalism” on the outside of the building. Most of the violent protestors gathered here, at the top of Ramblas, but many also gathered at Urquinaona, Jaume I, and Passeig de Gracia. The chaos began when the Mossos d'Esquadra (the Catalan autonomous police) were called in. Protestors were throwing bottles, bricks, or whatever they could get their hands on at the police. Many trashcans were flipped over, and some were set ablaze. At least one police car was also set on fire. My roommate and I ran down to Plaza Catalunya that day to see what was going on. We did not expect things to get as violent as they did. It was certainly a memorable experience.
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