Demonstrators are expected to march in more than 50 Spanish cities on Saturday, one day after parliament rejected two government decrees designed to strengthen protections for tenants.
Housing Anger Moves From The Streets To The Ballot Box
The protests were called by the Tenants’ Union, which has been coordinating the mobilization. In a statement, the group said there was “an irreparable disconnect between what the people want and what the parties vote for.”
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In Madrid, marchers are set to depart from multiple points around the city at noon before converging on Plaza de Cibeles in the center. Activists have also maintained a camp for about a week in Puerta del Sol, one of the capital’s best-known public squares.
An Eviction That Sparked National Outrage
The immediate catalyst for the unrest was the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who was carried out on a stretcher from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for nearly seven decades. Housing campaigners say an investment firm had purchased the property and attempted to raise her rent by 275 percent. Following a public backlash, the new owners agreed to let her return at a reduced rent.
A Political Setback For Pedro Sánchez
The government introduced the measures in response to the nationwide protests that followed. The rejected package would have automatically renewed rental contracts at expiration, limited evictions of vulnerable tenants and targeted so-called vulture funds — investment firms that acquire properties cheaply in pursuit of higher returns.
The decrees required support from the Catalan separatist party Junts, which voted against them, saying they lacked sufficient rigor. The defeat marks another setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and has intensified questions about whether his minority government can survive until the next scheduled general election in 2027.
After the vote, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative Popular Party and Sánchez’s main rival, called on the prime minister to “call elections as soon as possible.” After eight years in office, Feijóo said, Sánchez no longer had the backing of “neither the streets nor parliament.” Recent opinion polls have generally placed the Popular Party ahead of the Socialists.
Why The Housing Crisis Is Resonating
Housing has remained one of the most pressing issues for Spaniards for years, as supply has lagged demand and prices have climbed sharply, mirroring pressures seen across much of the European Union. According to the real estate platform Idealista, average rents have nearly doubled over the past decade, while asking prices for homes have risen by about 90 percent.
