Thousands protest against the housing crisis in 50 Spanish cities after Congress rejects measures

Thousands of people took to the streets this Saturday (3) in around 50 cities in Spain to protest against the housing crisis and real estate speculation. The acts took place one day after the Spanish Congress rejected a package of measures presented by the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, from the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), to protect vulnerable tenants and contain evictions. The information is from AFP.

The package provided for the suspension of evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, the extension of rental contracts and restrictions on properties intended for tourism. The proposals also included mechanisms for automatic renewal of contracts, one of the main demands of tenant organizations.

The texts were defeated with the votes of the right-wing Popular Party (PP) and the far-right parties Vox and Junts, who opposed the government’s measures. The rejection provoked outrage among protesters, who accuse the parties of ignoring a crisis that especially affects large cities and low-income families.

In Madrid, the country’s capital, the federal government estimated the presence of approximately 70 thousand people. The organizers, however, stated that the demonstration brought together around 500,000 participants. The marches were called before the vote, but gained strength after the government’s defeat in Parliament.

Vigil

Also in the capital, activists have been holding a camp in Praça do Sol for a week. During the protests, protesters carried banners with the motto “Towards the general strike”. The Tenants Union, one of the organizations leading the movement, stated that the rejection of the package marks the beginning of a new stage of national mobilization.

In addition to the social crisis, the parliamentary defeat increased political pressure on Pedro Sánchez. The government’s difficulty in approving the measures rekindled the possibility of early elections, although the regular vote was only scheduled for 2027. While the Executive evaluates the next steps, housing movements promise to maintain protests against evictions, abusive increases and the transformation of properties into speculation assets.

Symbol of demonstrations

The mobilization was driven by the case of Maricarmen Abascal, 87 years old, evicted from the apartment where she had lived for seven decades. The property was purchased by a company that tried to increase its rent by approximately 275%: the value would go from around €500 to €2,650 per month, an amount higher than the pension received by the elderly woman.

The expulsion turned Abascal into a symbol of the Spanish housing crisis. After pressure from protesters, the company agreed to negotiate the retiree’s return to the property for a rent close to the amount she previously paid. For tenant movements, the agreement demonstrated the strength of popular mobilization and exposed the vulnerability of thousands of families in the face of rising rents and the lack of affordable housing.

With information from AFP.