Medical unions postpone indefinite strike due to snap elections, general walkout to be held on November 11th, Ada Colau proposed as Frente Amplio’s candidate for the elections and more news from Spain this Thursday October 8th.
Medical unions postpone indefinite strike due to snap elections
Medical unions that called an indefinite doctors’ strike to protest reforms approved by the Ministry of Health have suspended their walkout following the snap election announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Scheduled to start on October 28th, unions now believe that continuing the stoppage until a new government is formed, without any negotiating partners, would represent “an enormous effort” for doctors.
They have, however, warned that “this decision does not represent a renunciation: the strike call remains in effect, and the mobilisation will be reactivated if the next government does not address the demands of the medical community”.
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Police find body of man in car in flood-prone area of Barcelona
The Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalan police, discovered the body of a man inside a car in an underpass on the Ronda Nord ring road in the municipality of Les Franqueses del Vallès in Barcelona on Wednesday October 7th.
The area is prone to flooding and has been affected by torrential rains in recent days.
Some sources point to drowning as a possible cause of death, although the body has not yet been identified and an autopsy must still be carried out. Police have confirmed that, initially, “there are no indications of foul play”.
If drowning is confirmed, this would be the third fatality caused by the recent storms in Catalonia.
General strike to be held on November 11th
A general strike called in response to Spain’s housing crisis will take place on November 11th, just two days before the official start of the election campaign.
Unions have agreed the date with tenants’ unions, along with other organisations coordinating the ongoing protest in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol.
Spain’s Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, has given his approval to the strike and the date set. “This is not an election campaign, and it’s a date chosen by the unions. We have nothing to add, but we share the reasons why the unions want to demand higher wages and the right to affordable housing,” he said.
The last time Spaniards were called to a 24-hour strike was in 2012, during the recession, in which continuous austerity measures were made.
Ada Colau proposed as Frente Amplio’s candidate for the elections
Más Madrid has proposed that former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau be the candidate for Frente Amplio, the new name given to Spain’s junior coalition partner Sumar.
In a statement, the party explained that this proposal reflects the principles of “territoriality, generosity, and confederal structure” that the four parties currently comprising Frente Amplio – IU, Movimiento Sumar, Más Madrid, and the Comuns – want.
This means that Colau would become the lead candidate in Barcelona and run for Prime Minister, breaking with the tradition of reserving the top spot in the Madrid constituency for the candidate for Prime Minister.
Colau made a name for herself as the face of Spain’s anti-eviction movement from 2009 until 2014.
