Weekly Boycotts Begin This Week
The Confederació de Sindicats de Llogateres, Facua, and Justícia Alimentària have called for a consumer strike in Barcelona, urging residents to refrain from shopping at supermarkets, hypermarkets, and food chains every Wednesday starting 28 October 2026. Instead, the groups are encouraging people to buy food from municipal markets, local shops, cooperatives, and producers. The action is intended to build momentum toward a full consumer strike on 11 November 2026, the day of a planned general strike.
Protesting Rising Food Costs
The organisations say grocery prices have risen by an average of 40% since 2019, according to data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), while wages have increased by only 21.9% over the same period. They argue that profits at large distribution companies are being prioritised over affordability for households.
The landlord and the boss are strangling us from both sides. Also at the supermarket checkout. If we stop buying at the same time, they will notice.
Aldo Reverte, spokesperson, Confederació de Sindicats de Llogateres The campaign, dubbed "An 11N Without Shopping", explicitly states that the action is not directed against workers in large chains or small businesses, whom the groups invite to join the 11 November stoppage.
Who Can Join the Consumer Strike
The organisers describe the initiative as "the strike of those who cannot strike at work", targeting precarious workers, self-employed people, pensioners, students, and caregivers who may not have formal workplace strike rights.
Eating cannot be a privilege. The reduction in prices must come from the profits of large distributors, not from those who produce the food.
Javier Guzmán, director, Justícia Alimentària Rubén Sánchez, general secretary of Facua, called for transparency in pricing and limits on profit margins of major retail chains.
We have the right to know how much is paid in the countryside and how much the large distributors keep.
The weekly consumer action will continue until 11 November, when organisers are asking for a complete halt to all in-person and online purchases.
