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LOUD
Heating upeducationlabour

Madrid public university students and staff strike and march over funding

Madrid, Spain · since Nov 4, 2026

Is it still on?

YESDay 2 and counting, since Nov 4.

Last report · checked

The Tea in three lines

Why they are protesting
Protesters denounce economic underfunding of public universities by the regional government and alleged repression on campuses.
What they want
Increased public university funding, reversal of privatization policies, and a meeting with the Minister of Education.
What changed
Nov 4: Thousands of students and staff marched from Calle Marqués de Urquijo to the PP headquarters in Madrid.
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Both sides

What protesters want

  • Increase public university funding
  • End privatization of education
  • Address campus repression
  • Meeting with the Minister of Education

Organised by: Coordinadora en Defensa de la Universidad Pública, UCM por la Pública, Comisiones Obreras

What authorities say

The government modified the starting location of the march, moving it from the PSOE headquarters to a nearby street, a decision organizers described as arbitrary. No other official response was reported.25

The numbers

Only figures a source states, with who said it. Estimates often differ.

Crowd
10,000+
More than 10,000 students and staff participated in the march.4

The full story

On November 4, 2026, students and staff from Madrid's six public universities began a two-day strike to protest against what they describe as the economic suffocation of public higher education. Organised by the Coordinadora en Defensa de la Universidad Pública, the movement claims that regional government funding is insufficient and promotes the expansion of private institutions. Participants held informational pickets at various faculties before joining a march that moved from the vicinity of the PSOE headquarters to the PP headquarters in Madrid. Protesters demanded increased investment and a meeting with the regional Minister of Education, Mercedes Zarzalejo. While the government modified the starting point of the march, the event proceeded without reported incidents. Further demonstrations are scheduled for November 5, moving from Atocha to Puerta del Sol.

Timeline

  1. Thousands of protesters marched through central Madrid to the PP headquarters.245

  2. University students and staff initiated a two-day strike and held pickets at various Madrid campuses.13

Pins sit on city centres, never on gathering points

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