Madrid housing protesters camp overnight in Puerta del Sol
Protesters pitched tents after a major march sparked by an 87-year-old woman’s eviction, pressing Spain for stronger tenant protections.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Protesters set up tents and stayed overnight in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol after a large demonstration over housing costs and evictions. The Madrid housing protest encampment followed the Sept. 23 eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal from the Retiro apartment where she had lived for more than seven decades, according to an Associated Press report published by PBS.
Tens of thousands of people marched through Madrid on Saturday, AP reported. Al Jazeera reported separately that hundreds established tent encampments in central Madrid and that demonstrations had spread to Barcelona.
Why did protesters camp in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol?
The immediate catalyst was Abascal’s eviction, which AP reported took place on Sept. 23. Images of her removal circulated widely in Spain, the report said, prompting criticism of public authorities and real estate investment companies from protesters and other critics.
The demonstrators called for stronger tenant protections, action against fraud and a prohibition on evictions when no alternative housing is available, according to AP. Alicia del Río, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, said the group wanted new laws including indefinite rental contracts and an end to evictions such as Abascal’s.
AP reported that the union said Abascal’s monthly rent had risen from 500 euros to 2,650 euros after the home changed hands, before later being reduced to 1,650 euros. The union said she still could not afford that amount on her pension; that account was not independently established in the report.
What did Spain’s government say it would do?
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the Socialist-led government was preparing a housing Royal Decree for the following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, AP reported. Sánchez also called on parliamentary groups to approve it, but the report did not set out the decree’s contents or say whether it was enacted.
The protest comes amid a broader shortage of homes. AP said the Bank of Spain had estimated a shortfall of about 550,000 homes in the preceding year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a substantial share. It also reported that subsidized public rental housing makes up less than 2% of Spain’s housing stock, compared with an 8% European Union average.
Al Jazeera cited a different estimate, putting Spain’s deficit at 750,000 homes and reporting a central-bank warning that it could rise above one million by 2028. The available reports do not explain whether those figures use the same period or method, so they cannot be directly compared.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.