MADRID, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Spanish police arrested three members of a far-right group and fired rubber bullets on Saturday night in Madrid after tens of thousands had marched across the country to demand action to tackle a housing crisis.
Far-right activists, some of whom performed Nazi salutes, tried to reach demonstrators camped out in the Puerta del Sol, a central square in the Spanish capital, to protest the housing crisis, the Spanish government said.
Earlier, some demonstrators waved posters calling for a general strike after the measures drawn up to address mass anger over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, and other housing issues, were rejected in parliament on Friday.
“It’s a shame,” said Nando de Anguulo, 26, who joined Saturday’s protest in Madrid. “It only proves that it is us, the people, who have to adapt to the political parties, and not the politicians to what the people want, and this can’t go on like that.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez might call a snap election for November after the legislation failed to pass and would be watching the strength of Saturday’s protests before deciding, Spanish media reported on Friday.
Sanchez’s office declined to comment on the reports.
In the southeastern city of Valencia, demonstrators clashed with police who fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up protests.
About 30 protesters entered the City of Arts and Sciences, a landmark cultural complex, before police ousted them. Other demonstrations in 50 Spanish cities were peaceful.
Valeria Racu, spokesperson for the Tenants Union, told reporters in Madrid that a general strike would be called after talks with labour unions.
About 70,000 protesters took part in Saturday’s demonstration in Madrid, the Spanish government said.
Protests planned in Barcelona and the nearby city of Hospitalet de Llobregat were called off because of heavy rain.
(Reporting by Graham Keeley,Leonardo Benassatto, Jaime Lopez, Alejandro Martinez, Juan Barbosa and Elena Rodriguez; Editing by Susan Fenton and Rod Nickel)
