The protest of demonstrators for the right to housing in Madrid continues. Hundreds of people will spend a second night in tents set up in the heart of the center of the Spanish capital. They are trying to keep up the pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has promised rapid intervention to address the housing crisis.
About a hundred tents are located in the Puerta del Sol square. "We will stay here for as long as necessary," Alberto Macias, spokesperson for the Carabanchel Housing Union, one of the organizations behind the protest, told AFP. Director Pedro Almodóvar also paid a solidarity visit to the protesters on Sunday.
Puerta del Sol, the heart of the capital, has returned to being a busy square, among camping tents, blankets, sleeping bags. Over 500 people spent last night here, and today they are ready to spend the second, under the camps set up by the Sindicato de las Inquilinas, to protest against the housing emergency in Spain.
The 'acampada' at Puerta del Sol created an institutional clash. The municipality asked the government delegation, the prefecture of Madrid, to "restore normality as soon as possible" in the square and accused the state administration of "looking the other way". In a harsh statement, the municipality says it is "surprised" and "outraged" by the encampment, which it defines as "illegal" and claims that the prefecture has "allowed this to happen".
The protest in Madrid broke out after Maricarmen Abascal, 87 years old and 50% disabled, was evicted from her home where she has lived for 70 years. "We are all Maricarmen", "Never again a Maricarmen", there are numerous references to the old woman in Puerta del Sol. The square had already been occupied in 2011 by the Indignados protesting against austerity and corruption after the 2008 crisis.
On Wednesday, the images of her eviction created a real shock in the country, bringing Spain's housing crisis back to the foreground, ahead of legislative elections scheduled for 2027. Ms. Abascal, who has become a symbol of the housing emergency, had urged Spaniards to join the fight in a video message published online a few hours before Saturday's demonstration.
Ms Abascal was forced to leave the apartment she had lived in for 70 years after a real estate company bought the property and increased the rent by 275% to €2,650, according to the union. The case of this octogenarian-year-old dramatically illustrates the housing crisis affecting Spain, where short-term tourist rentals and so-called "vulture funds" are accused of driving up prices and reducing supply.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez responded on Sunday: "Maricarmen asked the government, and in particular me, to present a royal decree-law on Tuesday to begin alleviating the housing emergency situation that millions and millions of Spaniards are experiencing. Maricarmen, I have a message for you. The government is working tirelessly to present the royal decree-law on housing next Tuesday."
"We will wait here for the approval and, if necessary, also the validation of Parliament. We are in no hurry to leave", assured Valeria Racu, spokesperson of the Sindicato de Inquilinas. They demand the automatic renewal of rental contracts, as well as greater restrictions on evictions, the containment of rents, limits on tourist rentals and massive public housing interventions.
In ten years, the average price per square meter of rent in the country has almost doubled. As for purchases, the price marks an increase of over 50% in the same period. Madrid concentrates these tensions in a particular way: ranked first in 2025 and 2026 in the world ranking of the most sought-after cities for luxury real estate, the Spanish capital has such a limited social housing stock that some social housing is assigned by lottery.
