El 'no' de Junts al decreto de vivienda pone entre las cuerdas al Gobierno

The Spanish Congress will vote on Friday on the two housing decrees approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, following Junts' rejection of both initiatives and its demand for their withdrawal. After ten days in which housing has dominated public debate and sparked protests at Madrid's Puerta del Sol and other locations across Spain, the situation could change dramatically.

The government negotiated these urgent decrees, seeking greater intervention in the housing market through measures such as extending rental contracts, limiting rent increases, prohibiting evictions, and curbing the activity of speculative funds. The government requested that the approval of these decrees proceed urgently on Friday, without waiting for the next regular plenums of the Chamber.

It is important to note that these two norms entered into force after their publication in the Official Journal of the State (BOE), but they require validation by the Congress. However, the government lacks sufficient support in Parliament if Junts votes against them, as it has stated. This situation puts the executive in a difficult position, and voices are already pointing towards an electoral advance.

Multiple media outlets are already suggesting that the date chosen to call for elections could be the upcoming November 29th. For now, the Congress is scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM, with the two decrees to be debated and voted on separately. This allows the Chamber to decide whether to validate them or, conversely, to revoke them just days after their entry into force.

The Junts executive in Catalonia agreed on rejecting both decrees and asking the government to withdraw them for a new text that, in their view, would allow starting to reverse the serious housing situation. While Junts opposes the decrees, the government has decided to maintain them and bring them to a vote on Friday. The rejection announced by Junts, which joins the PP and Vox, is likely to result in neither of these initiatives being validated by the Congress.

The time has come for PP, Vox, and Junts to unite and demonstrate whether they stand with the citizenry or with speculators, according to sources from the executive this Thursday evening after learning of Junts' decision. The vote will also be accompanied by mobilizations. Those encamped in Madrid's Puerta del Sol have announced their presence in Congress on Friday, coinciding with the debate and vote on the housing decrees.