Thousands protest in Spain after housing relief rejected

MADRID

Demonstrators fill a Madrid city square during a housing protest on Saturday. Photograph: Juan Barbosa/Reuters

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Madrid and several Spanish cities on Oct. 3 demanding affordable housing after lawmakers voted down government-proposed tenant relief measures.

The protests extended a week-long crisis ignited by the eviction of 87-year-old pensioner Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid apartment. The parliamentary defeat marks another setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, renewing pressure on his minority administration ahead of general elections scheduled for 2027.

Parliament rejected the legislative package on Oct. 2 after Catalan separatist party Junts joined the main opposition Popular Party and far-right Vox in opposing the measures. The rejected provisions included automatic renewals for rental contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants.

Government authorities estimated turnout in the capital at 70,000 people, while organizers placed the figure at 500,000. Demonstrators also staged rallies in Palma de Mallorca, Santander, Segovia, Toledo and Valencia, where police detained five individuals following clashes.

Hundreds of demonstrators continued occupying a tent camp established a week earlier in central Madrid. Police blocked far-right groups attempting to reach the site late Oct. 3 and detained three people, local media reported.
Valeria Racu, a spokesperson for the Tenants' Union organizing the mobilization, called for a nationwide general strike. Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo urged Sanchez to call early elections, saying the country cannot endure current conditions.

Housing costs remain a central concern across Spain, where average rents have almost doubled over the past decade and property purchase prices have risen roughly 90 percent. Housing advocates said Abascal lived in her flat for seven decades before an investment firm acquired the property and sought a 275 percent rent increase, though public backlash prompted an agreement permitting her return at a reduced rent.