Tens of thousands demonstrate in Spain for the right to housing

Cristina Lopez, protester:

"It's enough!"

Manuel Ortega, protester:

“It makes you uneasy!”

Charo Carmona, protester:

»For solidarity with Maricarmen!«

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Spain over the weekend to demand the right to housing. The Interior Ministry spoke of 25,000 demonstrators, the organizers of a tenants' association said 300,000. The motto of the mass protest: “Ni una Maricarmen más” – “No more Maricarmen”. A few days ago, 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from her apartment in Madrid after 70 years - although there had been protests against it for months.

Abascal moved into the apartment with her parents in 1956 and later took over the rental agreement. According to the Tenants Protection Association, an investor increased the rent by 275 percent. After several failed eviction attempts, Abascal was removed from the apartment on Wednesday and taken to a hospital.

Cristina Lopez, protester:

"We've had enough of the violence we saw against Maricarmen."

Charo Carmona, protester:

"The housing shortage is getting out of control, and a roof over our heads is a right that we all have."

Manuel Ortega, protester:

"I am of the opinion that one should not play with a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution just because some parasites appropriate living space - a common property - just because they have the necessary money and the right to private property."

The demonstrators blame both the left-wing central government and conservative regional governments such as those in Madrid for the housing shortage. They are calling for an automatic extension of rental contracts for an indefinite period of time, better protection against evictions, a freeze on rents and a reform of tenancy law.

Victor Palomo, protester:

»There must be no more forced evictions like Maricarmen's; there are so many of them – 45 every day. All of us who live in rented homes live in constant fear.”

On Saturday evening, dozens of demonstrators set up tents in the square in front of the regional government in Madrid. Spanish media reported that the protest camp had grown to more than 100 tents by Sunday morning. In the wake of the protests, the government wants to pass a new legislative decree on housing policy in the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.