Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Spain to demand affordable housing, lower rents and an end to evictions.
A total of 54 demonstrations were called nationwide on Saturday as public anger over the worsening housing crisis continued to grow.
The largest march took place in Madrid, where four separate columns of protesters converged on Plaza de Cibeles beneath a banner reading Hacia la huelga general (‘Towards a general strike’).
The Government Delegation estimated that 70,000 people attended, while organisers put the figure at 500,000.
Placards carried through the capital included messages such as ‘Homes are for living’, ‘Our neighbourhoods are not for sale’ and ‘This isn’t Tetris – we can’t fit five people into 30 square metres’.
Protesters demanded a 50% reduction in rents, indefinite tenancy agreements and the expropriation of homes owned by so-called vulture funds.
Campaigners threaten general strike
Valeria Racu, a spokeswoman for Madrid’s Tenants’ Union, said a general strike over housing would be called ‘soon’.
The organisation is understood to be holding discussions with labour unions, although no date has yet been announced.
‘Whoever governs, we are not going to tolerate another four years without tackling the biggest problem facing this country,’ Racu said.
The demonstrations followed the rejection in Congress on Friday of two housing decrees proposed by Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government.
The measures included stronger protection for vulnerable tenants facing eviction, tighter regulation of temporary and room rentals and new restrictions affecting investment funds.
The recent eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen from the Madrid home where she had lived for more than 70 years has also become a rallying point for the movement.
Thousands protest in Cadiz and across Spain
Organisers claimed that 10,000 people joined the demonstration in Cadiz, where protesters declared that homes must once again become places to live rather than financial assets.
Around 3,000 people marched in Palma de Mallorca, according to police, while official estimates put attendance at approximately 3,500 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and 2,000 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Organisers placed the figures in the Canary Islands considerably higher, claiming between 6,000 and 8,000 attendees in Las Palmas and 10,000 in Santa Cruz.
Some 2,000 people also demonstrated in Santander, while around 1,500 marched through heavy rain in Leon.
Several hundred protesters gathered in Santiago de Compostela’s Plaza del Obradoiro, where a housing protest camp established on Thursday was expected to remain in place.
Five arrested in Valencia
The most serious incidents occurred in Valencia, where the Government Delegation estimated that 6,000 people attended the demonstration. Organisers claimed a turnout of more than 50,000.
Tensions erupted outside the Palau de les Arts, where the Valencia Real Estate Summit was being held.
A group of demonstrators broke through barriers and a police cordon surrounding the venue, with some reaching the area immediately outside the building.
Riot officers responded with baton charges, rubber bullets and tear gas.
Five people were arrested. Initial reports said eight police officers had been injured, although later accounts placed the number at nine, including a riot-police commander who reportedly suffered a broken arm.
Around 30 demonstrators briefly entered the City of Arts and Sciences complex before being removed by police, according to Reuters.
Barcelona protest postponed
Planned demonstrations in Barcelona and neighbouring L’Hospitalet de Llobregat were postponed because of severe weather warnings in Catalunya.
The Barcelona march has been rescheduled for Monday, October 5, in Plaza Urquinaona.
