Workers in Spain, on Wednesday, embarked on their first general strike in 14 years against the country’s housing affordability crisis, less than three weeks before a general election billed for November 29.

The protesting workers disrupted the morning commute for hundreds of thousands of people, while picketing logistics centres, industrial estates and motorways across the country.

The protesters also chanted, “We’re going to close the Mango store,” prompting store owners to draw their shutters, amid a heavy riot police presence.

In Madrid, amid the stormy weather, protesters blocked a main road leading into the centre of the Spanish capital, causing tailbacks, although many shops opened as normal.

Public transport was also disrupted, despite the implementation of minimum service requirements for commuter trains, metros and buses.

In Barcelona, many shops were closed and boarded up in anticipation of unrest, while the metro and bus networks didn’t function until the late afternoon after offering minimum services during the morning rush hour.

The last general strike in the country in 2012 was against austerity measures during the euro zone debt crisis, but the latest strike, backed by Spain’s two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, representing over a million workers, and tenants’ associations, is over the rising rents and evictions.

The latest strike followed weeks of demonstrations provoked by the eviction and subsequent death of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid.

According to the country’s central bank data, Spain has a deficit of about 750,000 homes, which is set to grow to over a million by 2028.