The spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, Alicia del Río, stated in a press conference from the camp set up in Puerta del Sol that the social movement will not accept "crumbs or empty measures" in the Royal Housing Decree-Law that the Council of Ministers plans to address this Tuesday. Del Río defends the urgent need to fully approve the norm renamed "Royal Maricarmen Decree", pointing out that the inalienable and non-negotiable measure is the implementation of indefinite rental contracts with automatic renewal to guarantee housing stability and stop abusive increases or expulsions through burofax.
The announcement occurred in a Puerta del Sol that has temporarily lost its status as a passage for locals and tourists to become a tangle of tarps, sleeping bags and ropes. At ground level, the tension in the atmosphere is noticeable: more than 200 tents already guard the square in a protest that has ceased to be a recurring conversation between friends and has become a permanent camp that seeks to increase pressure on the institutions.
During her appearance before the media, the representative of the organization has categorically rejected alternative proposals such as the massive construction of housing or the granting of tax credits to landlords, describing them as "deceptions" that favor the rentier sector. Instead, he urged the Government of Pedro Sánchez to legislate "in favor of the people and not vulture funds", recalling that market regulation and the cap on rental prices are essential steps that are already successfully applied in other countries of the European Union.
To questions from the press about the continuity of the camp in the central square and the possibility of a police eviction ordered by the City Council, Del Río asserted that the campers do not feel "any fear, but rather hope and anger." Likewise, the spokesperson downplayed the moments of provocation by agitators who tried to disrupt the protest, highlighting that the group acted peacefully to expel them and maintain the focus on the demand for housing as a fundamental right.
The first major altercation was recorded with the presence of Bertrand Ndongo, communicator for Periodista Digital, when several protesters began to recriminate his presence shouting "Fascists out of our neighborhoods!" In a matter of minutes, the crowd organized itself, surrounding the activist and pressing as a group until they expelled him from the square along Calle del Carmen between shoving, insults and the sting of the pepper spray allegedly used by the agitator, in a scene that took the groups of tourists who were passing through the area completely by surprise. Shortly after, the tension skyrocketed again with the appearance of the YouTuber Borja Escalona, whom the protesters immediately demanded to cut his live broadcast on social networks and leave the premises, along Calle de Carretas, under the same chants.
In its appearance, the Tenants' Union has warned that the ruling of the next Council of Ministers will only represent the "first battle" of a series of coordinated actions at the national level. Del Río warned that the movement will continue organizing calls and using all the necessary social protest tools during the coming months to prevent the norm from being weakened during its subsequent processing in the Congress of Deputies.
"I will never be able to afford a flat in my city"
At the foot of the square, the atmosphere combines fatigue with self-organization. The heat of the coffee and food that neighbors and organizers hand out as they pass relieves the fatigue of those who have been sleeping outdoors for two days now. Among the stores, Carla and Javi stand out, two friends who say that the first day was completely improvised and chaotic, but they assure that logistics has improved significantly as the hours have passed while the housing debate monopolizes each group of young people, but also older people.
Carla, from Madrid by birth, accepts with resignation the impossibility of becoming independent in her city: "I know that I will never be able to afford an apartment here, in my own house." At his side, Javi, a young Basque who moved to the capital for his studies, shares an equally pessimistic view of his residential future: "Looking at current prices, I have no hope of being able to stay or access decent housing."
This is just "the beginning"
That same unrest resonates throughout the camp. Between the canvases, stories are crossed such as those of Africa Azaceta, Nir Palomo and their dog Kafé, who face the fatigue accumulated after the night with a clear objective: "On my own I see it as impossible to pay rent; half the salary is not enough and you depend on your parents." Despite the skepticism about the political measures that will be voted on in the next few hours: "They will approve something insufficient to deflate the protest," they assure that the Maricarmen crisis has been the definitive fuse: "There was a lack of a symbol to move from complaint to action. Although it is uncomfortable, this is just the starting signal."
The protest has also crossed the borders of Madrid. Among the corridors formed by the stores there are profiles from all over Spain, such as the Asturian activist Jorge Fernández, who sees in the mobilization a historical response similar to the 15M to the failure of the institutions: "People have grown tired of waiting for the Government to solve the problems." After citing the emblematic case of Maricarmen, he sends a direct warning to the Executive: "Sánchez has to choose whether to continue in coalition with the vulture funds or with the people who defend housing."
It affects young and not so young
Among the campers there is also room for veterans: Antonia Calvo and Antonio Hernández, an older couple who came from Seville la Nueva, have come to the square to show their unconditional support for the young people. "We come for them and for all of us; this is a 'Enough is enough!'", says Antonia, who explains the suffocation of rent even outside the capital and accuses the big rentiers of the current crisis: "From three or four floors, tell me if that is not speculating."
