Video: <a href="https://x.com/OJS_CAT/status/2119461249566253292?a=1cb2dqDFL0j5_absaoU&s=20">@OJS_CAT / X</a>
1,000 Join OJS-Led Demonstration Over Living Costs
Around 1,000 young people took part in a protest at Mercat de Sant Antoni in Barcelona on Saturday 7th November 2026, according to organisers. The demonstration, called by the Socialist Youth Organisation (OJS), focused on rising housing costs, stagnant wages and job insecurity affecting under-30s. The Guardia Urbana estimated attendance at 450. The protest comes two days before a general strike on Wednesday 11th November, which will target housing and living conditions. The OJS says its members have helped form over 60 strike committees across Catalunya, including in universities and secondary schools, to mobilise youth participation.
Rents, Wages and Political Change in Focus
Demonstrators carried banners calling for socialism and criticised landlords, business owners and governments for profiting from workers’ struggles. Judith González, OJS spokesperson, said institutions were failing to address systemic economic inequality. Participants argued that young people face growing barriers to independence, with unaffordable rents and precarious employment limiting long-term planning. Some called for a transformation of the economic model, citing the need for collective organisation.
We’re ready to fight this system. This isn’t just about rent, it’s about who holds power,
said one demonstrator. Another stated that socialism offered a path to a more democratic and equitable society.
Strike Mobilisation Expands Across Campuses
Student committees have been established at several universities to promote the 11th November strike, including at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), and others in Tarragona and Lleida. These groups have held open assemblies, classroom outreach and agitation efforts. The OJS aims to turn educational centres into spaces of class struggle, arguing that student organisation is vital to resist deteriorating public education and rising reactionary discourse. Further mobilisations are expected across Barcelona in the run-up to the strike, with youth groups urging broader participation from working students and young renters.
Sources: Barna Diario, Ajuntament de Barcelona, horitzosocialista.cat.
