Massive protests in Madrid after the eviction of Maricarmen and indefinite camping in Sol

The eviction of Maricarmen in Madrid this Saturday unleashed a massive demonstration through the streets of the capital that ended with a camp in Puerta del Sol that still continues and whose end is still unknown. With images reminiscent of what was experienced on 15-M, the main demand in this case is that this Tuesday the Council of Ministers approve what they have dubbed the 'Maricarmen decree', a package of measures aimed at alleviating the housing situation.

Gonzalo Álvarez, spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, the main organization behind the march and the camping trip, spoke about all of this on RTVE. In an interview with the 24 Hours channel, Álvarez explained that the final straw for many of them with the current housing situation has been the "crudeness" of what they experienced with Maricamen, the 87-year-old woman who this Wednesday morning had to leave the house where she was renting after more than 70 years living in it.

"The crudeness of the case is palpable, this is something that we never thought could happen; the barbarity that was consummated on Wednesday," highlighted the spokesperson, who also wanted to highlight the role of Maricarmen herself.

"We have seen in recent days from various sectors a denigration towards Maricarmen, that she was a helpless lady, that she was being used... and I want to make it clear that Maricarmen is a union member, she is a strong and fighting woman who has been organized with the Madrid Tenants' Union for seven years, taking the reins of her conflict," she explained.

In addition, she has gone back to the origins of how Maricarmen came to the Union and the reason for the wave of reaction that her case has provoked: "From day zero when she appeared at an Assembly of the Tenants' Union, she had it clear. She said it and continues to say it to this day: 'This is happening to me and it is an injustice, but it is not only happening to me. What I want is not only to stay in my house, but I want this to never happen again to anyone and for there is no more Maricarmen'.

Álvarez has also thanked those who have spent the night camping in Sol, a sit-in that has passed without any incident. "We are still in Sol and it looks like we are not leaving, we are staying," he stated. For the moment, the organization has prepared different activities for the day, among which the assemblies to talk about housing stand out. After 9:30 a.m. the first of them began, a "direct action workshop", with which they intend to continue exerting force "so that housing stops being a market good."

On this first night in which the movement has not ceased, the attendees are already thinking about the organization of the following days and talk about buying tents or taking turns so as not to leave the camp empty before their demands materialize.