Maricarmen es la excusa para endosar a otro el muerto de la vivienda

The decree known as Maricarmen is not a solution to Spain's housing problem but rather a way to find scapegoats ahead of elections. It will not solve the issue because even in the most moderate model, it continues with the same suicidal and interventionist policies that have worsened the situation by destroying the limited supply of housing in a context of huge demand.

The Housing Law and price control measures have been a failure wherever they have been implemented, such as in Catalonia, where many landlords have pulled their properties from the rental market. This explains why the autonomous community where Illa governs has the highest prices and evictions. The result has been discouraging, but no one should be fooled, as with the legislative term nearly over, no one is looking for a solution to the housing problem anymore.

The only thing being pursued is to pin this on someone else. For Sánchez, it will not be easy to pass the hot potato. He promised in 2015 that when he was president, there would be no evictions, and he has been in government for 8 years with only 250,000 evictions. He promised to build hundreds of thousands of public housing and has not come close to 10,000.

The Maricarmen decree will not rehabilitate him. It will not be what the protesters at Puerta del Sol are expecting, nor what Yolanda Díaz or Irene Montero are expecting, although they will use it to blame the right or, why not, the PSOE. It is about capitalizing on anger and stealing votes wherever they can. The decree will not address indefinite rentals, the expropriation of the apartment where Maricarmen lived, or going after the funds that call them sharks.

Yesterday, the media asked the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, about all these issues after his intervention in the EXPANSIÓN Financial Forum, and he gave a long-winded evasion that completely refuted everything. Cuerpo, who is a Commercial Technical of the State and therefore has the economic background that many others lack at the Council of Ministers table, knows he has to navigate between political positivism and rigor.

He knows that forcing indefinite rentals as their Sumar partners demand is a covert expropriation of housing. He knows expropriating a Madrid SME's apartment where Maricarmen lived sends a terrifying interventionist message to the investors financing our economy. And he knows that if he attacks the funds, what face will he have to show later that our country is trustworthy?

Only a few minutes earlier, in front of an auditorium, he had emphasized how important generating trust in life is. And now, in the best of cases, they will present palliative measures like better protection against evictions, some limits on speculative purchases -who knows how-, some obstacles for tourist apartments, perhaps a tax measure for renters and owners, help for first-time homebuyers.

All these are placebos being sold as the definitive solution, even though everyone knows they do not attack the root of the problem, which is the lack of supply, the 750,000 homes the Bank of Spain talks about. It is crucial that this text does not contain any of Irene Montero or Yolanda Díaz's tricks. The question is whether Sumar, ERC, Podemos, or Bildu will accept this caffeine-free text or break with Sánchez, betting everything on a demagogic battle to the last minute before the elections.

Or if Sánchez will ignore Cuerpo and hitch himself to that reckless left to say once again that the right and ultraright are against the well-being of Spaniards. And what about the protesters in Sol? It is clear that few believe their ultimate goal is to achieve affordable housing for everyone. History has never achieved this with their proposals.

They seem to only want a house in Galapagar and a private school for their children. What comes next is replacing the caste.