69 Dead and a General Strike: Feijóo Calls for Cancellation

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents 69 Dead and a General Strike: Feijóo Calls for Cancellation.

On the morning of November 3, 2026, Alberto Núñez Feijóo directly addressed the unions in Madrid at an information breakfast organized by Europa Press. The leader of the conservative Partido Popular and candidate for prime minister demanded that the general strike scheduled for November 11 be reconsidered and called off. The catalyst for the escalation of his criticism was the accident in Urda in the province of Toledo, which according to reports killed 69 people.

Feijóo Objects to the Timing, Not the Right to Strike

Feijóo deliberately limited the scope of his appeal. He said he was not questioning the constitutional right to strike, but questioning the sense of the timing. His demand is therefore not directed against strikes as a political tool, but against a specific date and a specific situation.

The unions called the general strike against the opposition, Feijóo said, citing the PSOE’s campaign director. He said he already found it incomprehensible that they had called the strike before the accident. After the 69 deaths, however, he considers it a serious mistake.

“I do not question the constitutional right to strike. I question the sense of the right timing.”

Feijóo formulated the actual consequence more sharply than a request: the unions should not go ahead with the strike. Otherwise, they would permanently associate their image with Pedro Sánchez. This argument also points to the election date. According to ABC, elections will be held in 26 days; the planned strike is only three weeks away.

A private appeal becomes public

Feijóo also said he had already raised the strike privately with the unions, speaking to people he knew from the structures of CCOO and UGT. Now, he had brought his appeal before the public. At the same time, he said he did not want to open new fronts with civil society actors. His call for “strong negotiating partners” rather than weakness was directed at the unions.

The Accident Shifts the PP’s Political Line

For Feijóo, the debate about the strike now extends far beyond the labor day. The accident in Urda had exposed a long-running process of “decay,” he said. He called for a correction of course and a government capable of actually changing things.

In doing so, he linked the issue of the strike to the PP’s campaign. According to ABC, all polls point to a coalition with Vox because the PP alone cannot achieve a governing majority. Following the tragedy, the political center has once again come into sharper focus. This provides the PP with a favorable environment in which to consolidate further support.

Feijóo combined his campaign message with calls for a clear mandate and serious leadership. He said he did not want to improvise. His goal was to regain the Spanish people’s trust and restore respect for the nation.

Political proximity is part of the argument

The strongest counterargument to Feijóo’s assessment of the strike follows from his own argument: he explicitly places the action in the context of an upcoming election campaign. According to him, the PSOE’s campaign director confirmed that the strike was directed against the opposition. Feijóo is therefore not only disputing civil society’s responsibility after the tragedy, but also the political effect of a strike a few weeks before the election.

“Do not hold it. We did not hold it during the eight years of our government. Do not hold it now.”

His comparison refers to Pedro Sánchez’s eight years in government. According to him, the unions did not call a general strike during that period. ABC also reports that Feijóo wants voters to defeat the incumbent Spanish prime minister and other members of the government in the election.

What the Reports Leave Open About the Cancellation

The two sources characterize Feijóo’s expectation differently, but both refer to the same action. Europa Press reports that he asked the unions to “reconsider” the general strike. ABC, by contrast, describes a call to cancel the strike.

“Reconsider” formally leaves open the possibility that the unions will review their decision again. “Cancel” demands an unambiguous outcome. Both reports leave the constitutional right to strike untouched. Neither report contains a response from the unions to Feijóo’s public appeal or a confirmed cancellation of the strike on November 11.

Feijóo Promises a Review of the Entire Rail Network

Rail infrastructure was the second focus of his speech in Madrid. If the PP came to power, he said, he would carry out a comprehensive review of Spain’s entire rail system. It is to be included in writing in the PP’s election manifesto.

Technical and experienced personnel should once again be put in charge, and the leadership of Adif should be depoliticized. Where infrastructure was damaged, Feijóo identified clear priorities: he would halt a line or reduce its speed if necessary. Maintenance and upkeep should take priority over new construction projects. He would not begin a new construction project if he could not see it through.

The connection between Urda and this complex is clear. In Feijóo’s words, the strike should be called off, while the review he has announced concerns precisely the infrastructure that has returned to the center of the political debate following the accident in Toledo.