Spain’s housing protests intensify as tenants’ unions push for general strike
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across Spain on Saturday, demanding action on housing costs and stronger protection for tenants after Congress rejected two government decrees intended to address the crisis. Tenants’ organisations used the nationwide mobilisation to begin building support for a general strike, with more than 50 marches... The post Spain’s housing protests intensify as…
Tens of thousands of Spaniards protested on Saturday, rallying for housing reforms and tenant rights after Congress rejected two government decrees aimed at tackling the crisis. The nationwide demonstrations, uniting under the slogan 'Towards a general strike,' saw over 50 marches in major cities. In Madrid, clashes erupted in Valencia, leading to arrests and injuries.
Heavy rain halted Barcelona's planned demonstration. This surge in action followed the rejection of housing measures on Friday and outrage over the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid home. Demonstrators in Madrid began from four locations before converging on Plaza de Cibeles, with estimates ranging from 70,000 to half a million participants.
Anger over the eviction of Abascal, who had lived in her apartment since 1955, fueled the movement. Abascal's case has intensified the debate on housing affordability, with rents in Spain having nearly doubled in the past decade. Tenants' unions are now pushing for a general strike, aiming to reclaim a powerful tool used historically by working people.
Other protests erupted in Valencia, where police used force to disperse demonstrators attempting to enter a real estate summit, and in the Canary Islands, where protesters criticized the conversion of residential properties into tourist accommodations.
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