Bon dia. The country is bracing for a general strike and street protests on Wednesday, 11 November. Meanwhile, political campaigning has unofficially begun in the runup to the 29 November election. Also, the housing camp in Plaza del Ayuntamiento says it is open to dismantling if city officials rule out a forced eviction and accept their petition.
For more on what to expect this Wednesday, read Pont de Valencia’s explainer: General strike, 11 November: what it means for you, and why it’s happening
Dates to Watch:
- Wednesday, 11 November: General strike and protests
- Sunday, 29 November: General election
City & Politics
Protests and general strike details
Valencia Plaza reported that the education unions STEPV, CCOO and UGT called protests for the 11 November general strike. In Valencia city, a rally is planned at 11:00 outside the Conselleria de Educación, followed by a march at 11:45 to Plaza del Ayuntamiento, with a rally there at 12:30. An education column leaves from Torres de Quart for the afternoon strike march. The article did not say whether classes would be suspended. Meanwhile, trains may be delayed on 10 through 12 November, as train drivers are also threatening to strike, reports Valencia Plaza.
In Spanish: Sindicatos educativos convocan protestas en las principales ciudades valencianas el día de la huelga general (Valencia Plaza)
Housing camp to reduce tents as talks continue
The housing camp in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento has agreed to dismantles some tents and reduce the size of the protest movement, reported Levante-EMV. After meeting on Thursday with the Government Delegation and City Council advisers, camp organizers agreed to make way for holiday installations, including the seasonal ice rink. Talks are still ongoing to finalize details. In Madrid, El País reported that police cleared the housing camp at Sol without incident after organizing committees announced their withdrawal.
In Spanish: La acampada por la vivienda en València seguirá en la plaza, pero cede espacio a los comerciantes para Navidad (Levante-EMV)
Puente resigns as rail fears grow
Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned a week after the Urda train crash, ahead of the 29 November general election, El Español reported. He resigned after resisting for a week, although Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had asked him to stay until the vote. A GAD3 poll, reported by Las Provincias, found that 55% of Spaniards were afraid to travel by train after the accident and 72% believed the rail system was working worse than a few years ago. Respondents cited a perceived lack of investment and maintenance, poor management and planning by the State, and too many political appointees in technical positions.
In Spanish: Puente dimite por sorpresa tras resistir una semana pese a que Sánchez le pidió que continuara hasta las generales del 29-N (El Español)
Corruption probe reaches Valencia
El Mundo reported that the UCO, the Guardia Civil’s anti-corruption unit, carried out arrests and searches in four provinces, including Valencia, on Thursday. The operation was a new strand of the Koldo case, an investigation involving Koldo García, a former aide to ex-minister José Luis Ábalos, and it concerns public works contracts at rail operator ADIF. El País reported that the UCO searched Ábalos’s home in Valencia and that six people were detained. The Objective reported that investigators were checking whether allegedly rigged contracts include work on the rail lines where the Adamuz and Urda crashes happened, that the UCO suspects lowball bids and thin maintenance may have affected the crashes, and that the six detained were released. No link to the crashes has been established, and the papers did not report a response from ADIF.
In Spanish: La UCO indaga si los amaños en ADIF guardan relación con los accidentes de Urda y Adamuz (The Objective)
Sánchez and Ayuso campaign in Cabanyal
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez rallied PSOE supporters in Valencia on Friday El País reported, pointing to recent left-wing electoral wins in Brazil and the US. He also met the family of Guillem Agulló, a young man murdered in 1993 near Castellón. The family is fighting to have him recognized as a victim of far-right extremist violence. In response to Sanchez campaigning, El Español reported that Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a PP rival, appeared in the Cabanyal market hours later and traded quips with the crowd. Valencia Plaza reported that Ayuso told reporters Sánchez is afraid of swapping La Moncloa, the seat of the national government, for the Soto del Real prison, alluding to ongoing corruption allegations.
In Spanish: Pedro Sánchez llama a la movilización en su retorno a la precampaña: “Si se pudo en Brasil y EE UU, en España también” (El País)
City & Economy
Tourism spreads beyond Ciutat Vella
Valencia Plaza reports that tourism businesses are declining in Ciutat Vella, the old town, and spreading into residential neighborhoods across the city. Tourism-related numbers tripled in la Saïdia and Extramurs. Ciutat Vella’s share of the city’s tourist housing fell from 40% in 2019 to 24% today.
In Spanish: El turismo muta en València: Ciutat Vella pierde peso mientras se triplica en la Saïdia y Extramurs (Valencia Plaza)
Las Provincias charts Valencia’s richest
Forbes’ list of Spain’s wealthiest individuals is out. And Las Provincias has charted the rise and fall of Valencia’s top ranks. The Roig family, whose fortune comes from Mercadona, holds several top positions. Port and shipping magnate Vicente Boluda also ranks high.
In Spanish: El mapa de las grandes fortunas de la Comunitat (Las Provincias)
New-build housing shifts beyond the city
Valencia is growing rapidly into L’Horta, the small peri-urban towns that ring the city. Las Provincias reported, citing the UPV housing observatory, that l’Horta towns have three times Valencia’s supply of new homes, concentrated in the northern belt. Valencia Plaza reported that Casa 47, the government-backed public home developer, has also acquired plots to build 70% of the public housing proposed in its plan for the DANA zone.
In Spanish: L’Horta triplica la oferta de viviendas nuevas de Valencia y concentra las promociones en el norte (Las Provincias)
City & Culture
Gen Z fills the opera at Les Arts
Young audiences are flocking to the Reina Sofia Opera House at Les Arts, reports Las Provincias. The latest production, a traditional Zarzuela, was surprisingly popular with the under-30s audience, who benefit from a discounted showing.
In Spanish: Gen Z flocks to the opera at Les Arts (Las Provincias)
Marking the “miracle of the Prado”
Culturplaza looks back at the remarkable rescue of hundreds of priceless art works from the Prado during Spain’s civil war. Fearing the Prado would be bombed, on 10 November 1936, he Republican government moved the artworks to Valencia. Drivers did a harrowing 300 kilometer 9 hour truck drive to get here. The works included someof the most historic masterpieces of Spanish art, including Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez. The works were in a fortified Torres de Serranos for safekeeping from 1936-1938.
In Spanish: 90 años del traslado de las obras del Prado a la València republicana: “Fue un milagro que volvieran todas las piezas” (Cultur Plaza)
New Yorker pans Spain’s Oscar entry
New Yorker film critic Justin Chang panned “La bola negra,” Spain’s entry for the Oscars, El País reported. An excerpt from the New Yorker’s scathing review reads: “Upon the ruins of St. Sebastian, Ambrossi and Calvo mean to erect a cinematic monument for the ages; instead, they have produced a film that insists, arrogantly and aggressively, on its own monumentality.” The film had received rapturous reviews at home, and El País reported that local media received the verdict with indignation.
In Spanish: La revista ‘The New Yorker’ arremete contra ‘La bola negra’: “No es un monumento; es un fracaso”’ (El País)
One Last Thing
Planning ahead for summer 2027? Valencia Extra reports that the new United flight taking passengers direct Valencia to New York are now on sale for travel starting in June 2027. The nine hour flight lands in Newark and is the first direct flight to the United Sttes in 15 years.
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Sources: El Español, Las Provincias, El Mundo, El País, The Objective, Valencia Plaza, Valencia Extra
