Spain Housing Protest: Tens of Thousands March Against Rent Crisis

Tens of thousands of people marched across Spain on Saturday in demonstrations over the country's housing emergency, a day after Congress rejected the government's emergency housing legislation. About fifty marches took place in cities including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, with demonstrators at the Spain housing protest demanding lower rents, an end to evictions and a ban on investment funds buying up residential property.

The Spain housing protest movement follows weeks of growing anger, and the immediate trigger for Saturday's turnout was public outrage over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home last month after she was unable to afford a sharp increase in her rent. Her case became a national symbol. In response, Pedro Sánchez's leftist coalition government put forward a package of tenant protections on Friday, but campaigners said the measures were insufficient, and Congress voted the package down.

According to the BBC, the fallout from the Spain housing protest has fuelled speculation that Sánchez could call an early general election, which was not due until next summer. His coalition, made up of the ruling Socialist party and the junior Sumar alliance, does not hold a majority in parliament, and the failed vote showed the limits of its support there.

Clashes in Valencia and a disputed turnout in Madrid

In Valencia, the Spain housing protest turned violent near the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía arts centre, where a real estate summit was being held. Spanish media reported that some demonstrators removed barriers and threw objects at police officers, who responded with rubber bullets. According to public broadcaster RTVE, nine officers were injured and five people were arrested. A spokesperson for the Valencia Tenants' Union said there was "a lot of anger in the streets".

Police also said they arrested three members of a far-right group who tried to reach the demonstrators in the square, some of whom performed Nazi salutes.

In Madrid, the size of the Spain housing protest crowd was disputed. The city's Tenants' Union claimed half a million people had joined the march, while officials put the figure at seventy thousand. Demonstrators carried banners reading "There won't be peace for rentism", and one banner said students study for "a future, not a tiny apartment". Protesters shook keys above their heads and chanted that they held the keys to the whole city. Some had been camping in the Puerta del Sol square for days ahead of the march.

Marcos Sainz, a 26-year-old librarian, told the AFP news agency that he used to share a two-bedroom flat with friends for 900 euros a month, while a one-bedroom flat in Madrid today often costs one thousand euros. Sainz said he would keep protesting "until someone dares to regulate it all", warning that otherwise young people would all have to leave the capital. Another protester, David, told RTVE that demonstrators had come "out of conviction", not for pleasure or comfort.

Tenants' unions call for a general strike

On Friday night, the Madrid Tenants' Union said the government's proposed measures had been insufficient, but added that the rejection of the legislation "exacerbates the housing crisis which is costing the working class their lives". The union is now calling for a general strike over the housing crisis to follow the Spain housing protest.

The government has termed large property investors buying homes "vulture funds", adopting language used by the protesters. But with Congress unwilling to pass even the coalition's own compromise package, tenant groups say the rhetoric has not been matched by laws that can pass parliament.

A failed vote puts the coalition under strain

For Sánchez, the housing crisis has become an issue on which his minority government is struggling to deliver. The prime minister's coalition depends on smaller parties to pass legislation, and Friday's defeat showed how little room for manoeuvre it has on an issue that now dominates the streets.

France 24 reported fresh protests flaring across Spain after lawmakers rejected the relief measures, and the Spain housing protest crowds spread quickly beyond the largest cities. The encampments in Madrid's main square remained in place over the weekend, and organisers have said further actions will follow if the government does not return with a stronger package.

The full BBC report on the Spain housing protest has more detail on Saturday's demonstrations.

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