The spokesperson believes that no political group is committed to “defending the interests of the working class, and none will have the willingness or ability to break with the housing business at its roots.” For the Tenants’ Union, the “path” to dismantling the housing business lies in working-class struggles, including the calling of “major strikes.” “It is the only way to genuinely improve our living conditions,” she said.
In this regard, the group “welcomes” the call for a general strike and considers it the “way forward.” Ríos also points out that housing is merely “the spearhead of widespread social discontent,” amid the “overall deterioration” of the working class’s living conditions. The group links this discontent to stagnant real wages, the rising cost of living and the deterioration of public services.
With this objective, Zaragoza’s Tenants’ Union has called an assembly this Thursday at 7 p.m. in San Pablo Square. The aim is to “continue extending the struggle to Zaragoza’s neighborhoods” and bring in anyone wishing to participate in organizing future mobilizations. For now, however, the group has not set a specific schedule of protests during the election campaign.
Ríos insists that, in her view, none of the parties that have governed in recent legislatures has guaranteed the right to housing, and she maintains that social pressure is the way to achieve change. “Only if we show that we are stronger, that we have the ability to force them to carry out significant reforms, can we move forward,” she argues.
The union’s ultimate goal, its spokesperson explains, goes beyond containing rents or halting certain evictions. “Our aim is for housing to cease to be a commodity,” Ríos says, calling for it to be guaranteed universally as “a basic necessity.”
GENERAL STRIKE
For now, the organization is also not considering organizing camps again, like those held in recent weeks. The Tenants’ Union considers them a “very useful” tool for raising the movement’s visibility and helping new people join, but says its priority now is preparing the general strike.
For the union, that preparation requires prior work in workplaces, educational centers and neighborhoods. “Building a general strike is not simply a matter of calling a strike,” the spokesperson stresses, advocating for informing people about their rights, encouraging participation and creating strike committees.
