Thousands of drivers recently took to the streets in Madrid during a protest led by the ‘National Platform in Defense of Transport,’ an initiative constituted by transportation workers.
As reported by La Gaceta de la Iberoesfera, their ire was directed at the socialist-led government’s policies, which they say are ruining the transportation sector, which is largely constituted by self-employed drivers who are being suffocated by the increase in costs, particularly of gasoline.
Protestors specifically referred to the Ministry of Transportation’s failure to honor certain agreements reached last March.
Spain’s mainstream establishment trade unions, the UGT and CCOO, have chosen not to stand with these workers. The one-time Marxist (or anarcho-syndicalist-identifying unions) are in close alignment with the government and its foreign, billionaire supporters.
The VOX-adjacent union, Solidaridad, for its part, is supporting the platform, with its secretary-general, Rodrigo Alonso, present at the Madrid protests.
The National Platform in Defense of Transport recently voted to call for an indefinite strike, a move supported by 96% of its members.
This strike in Madrid resembles in nature the strikes taking place in Greece, France, and Belgium where demonstrators have interrupted transportation to protest rocketing inflation and energy prices.
