It is very uncommon for Spanish authorities to attempt to use force to break strikes. The last instance of this was in 2008, when truckers blocked the roads around Madrid (see the diary Post Peak Iberia by Luis de Sousa).

The "Burgos road" is one of the 6 roads coming out of Madrid, the one directly due North.

At the end of 2009 and well into January 2010 there was a covert strike by Spanish air traffic controllers (what is called a zeal strike where strict adherence to procedural or safety minutiae jams up operations). In February this year the Minister of Public Works, José Blanco, introduced a decree making a repeat of the strike harder in the future.