Mass protests and tent camps sweep Spain as housing crisis meets Palestine rally
Across Spain, thousands marched for housing rights and Palestine, while spontaneous tent camps sprang up in cities such as Madrid, Granada and Alicante.
A wave of housing protests erupted on Sunday, building on massive Saturday rallies in Madrid and other cities and linking the issue to the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks in Palestine. Demonstrators marched through central Madrid, from Atocha to Gran Vía, chanting slogans against what they called genocide and demanding rent controls, the closure of tourist apartments and the seizure of speculative funds. Tent camps, first set up in Sol, spread to Granada, Alicante and Valencia, with dozens of tents and hundreds of occupants.
In Madrid, ultra-right activists attempted to block the Sol encampment, resulting in three detentions by authorities. Political leaders from PSOE, PP and Podemos used the unrest to argue for elections or for more ambitious housing legislation, while union chief Unai Sordo warned of possible broader strikes.
Why it matters
The protests expose deep public frustration over housing affordability and fuel political debate ahead of potential early elections.
How this story developed
- Sep 22 Hundreds rally to stop eviction of 87-year-old tenant in Madrid
- Sep 23 The fourth eviction attempt was carried out by police on Wednesday morning.
- Sep 25 Maricarmen was hospitalized and declined the mayor’s emergency shelter offer, opting to remain with family in Segovia.
- Sep 27 Hundreds of activists erected a tent camp in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol following the eviction.
- Sep 29 After mass demonstrations, an 87-year-old woman in Madrid will return to her flat under new rental terms.
- Sep 29 The cabinet agreed to divide the housing decree-law into two separate measures, hoping at least one will survive a vote in Congress.
- Sep 29 A deal was reached that allows the senior resident to return to her apartment.
- Sep 29 The government announced it will separate the housing decree into two bills.
- Oct 2 Spanish cabinet approved the “Maricarmen Decree” aimed at protecting vulnerable renters.
- Oct 2 Congress voted to reject the two housing decrees.
- Oct 3 Parliament rejected the housing reform package.
- Oct 4 Union estimates 500,000 participants in Madrid while authorities put the figure at about 70,000, and negotiations for a nationwide general strike continue without a set date.
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