Fresh Protests Planned in Spain Following Defeat of Tenant Protection Measures
Yesterday, the Spanish parliament rejected two government housing measures, prompting new demonstrations across Madrid and other cities today.
Spain is bracing for renewed demonstrations after lawmakers rejected a package of housing measures, a defeat that has galvanised tenant groups and housing-rights campaigners to call for fresh street protests. The rejected legislation had been intended to curb soaring rents and strengthen tenant protections in a market where housing costs have outpaced wage growth for years. With the parliamentary route blocked, organisers are mobilising nationwide rallies to pressure the government into reintroducing stronger reforms.
Fresh protests over housing are due to take place in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday, a day after parliament rejected two government measures to strengthen protection for tenants. The Tenants’ Union, which has been coordinating the demonstrations, has called for rallies in more than 50 cities. In the capital, activists and protesters have been camping for about a week in Puerta del Sol, one of the main tourist squares. Demonstrators are due to set off from several locations around the city at noon before converging on Plaza de Cibeles. “There is an irreparable disconnect between what the people want and what the parties vote for,” the union said in a statement (The Hindu).
The government introduced the measures after nationwide protests following the eviction, on a stretcher, of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from a Madrid apartment she had occupied for around seven decades. She was forced to leave the flat after it was acquired by an investment company that sought to increase her rent by 275%, according to housing campaigners. The backlash led the property’s new owners to reach a deal allowing her to return at a low rent. The package defeated on Friday included the automatic renewal of rental contracts when they expire, as well as measures aimed at restricting the eviction of vulnerable tenants. They also targeted so-called vulture funds — investment firms that buy properties at low prices in pursuit of higher returns (The Hindu).
Catalan separatist party Junts — whose support was essential to approve the two decrees — voted against them, arguing they lacked rigour. The defeat was another political setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and has renewed questions over whether his minority government can survive until the next scheduled general election in 2027. After the vote, the leader of the main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, urged Sánchez to “call elections as soon as possible.” After eight years in power, Mr. Sánchez had the backing of “neither the streets nor parliament,” he added. Recent opinion polls have generally placed the opposition Popular Party ahead of the Socialists (The Hindu).
Housing has for years been a top concern for Spaniards as supply falls short of demand, with rents and house prices soaring as elsewhere in the European Union. Average rents in Spain have almost doubled over the past decade, while asking prices for homes have risen by about 90 percent, according to real estate website Idealista (The Hindu).
Reuters India·The Hindu