By David Latona and Guillermo Martinez
MADRID, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters camped out on Madrid’s main square and in other Spanish cities demanded on Wednesday that parliament swiftly approve new measures to protect tenants and curb the country’s acute housing crisis.
The demonstrations were ignited last week by the dramatic eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid home of more than seven decades. Her case highlighted mounting pressure on long-term tenants in major cities and tourist hotspots, where soaring rents, gentrification and a shortage of affordable housing have fuelled social and political unrest.
Spain’s leftist minority government passed two decrees on Tuesday with a host of measures, including a ban on evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, but their full implementation hinges on approval by the fragmented lower house, which is due to hold a vote on Friday.
Many activists said even those measures fell short of tackling the crisis.
“It’s not enough — it might be a starting point or a stopgap,” 32-year-old pharmaceutical worker Julio Gomez told Reuters, adding that he was willing to stay with his tent in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square for “as long as it takes”.
Others criticised the government’s decision to split the measures into two separate bills with the expectation that one, which automatically extends leases to prevent abusive rent hikes, would be rejected by a slim right-wing majority.
“They’ve done it so that one gets approved and the stronger one gets rejected, just to sneak one through by the skin of its teeth,” said veterinarian Gonzalo Sanchez, 26.
ACTIVISTS FIGHT EVICTIONS
Madrid’s Tenants’ Union, which organised the initial protests, described some of the measures as “crumbs”, although it also called the government’s move a “historic victory” for the social movement.
Meanwhile, dozens gathered on Wednesday in Burjassot, near Valencia, to block the eviction of Daniel Gonzalez, a university professor who has lived at his home since 2009. Faced with the protest, court officials agreed to postpone his eviction for at least 10 days.
Gonzalez said he has paid rent on time for more than 17 years, despite the property changing hands among investment funds, but after a legal dispute lasting nearly a decade the courts ultimately backed the owner.
The public outcry over last week’s eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal in Madrid led to a deal with her landlord, property firm Urbagestion, to let her stay in the apartment with unchanged rent. She remains in hospital following the eviction but is expected to return home in the coming days.
Urbagestion’s co-owner, Ricardo Alonso, told newspaper El Economista he and his partner had faced a pressure campaign over the eviction, citing the delivery of a box containing live cockroaches.
(Reporting by David Latona and Guillermo Martínez; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Gareth Jones)
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