Madrid (EFE).- The Spanish Congress rejected the two housing decrees approved by the coalition government, raising the possibility of bringing forward the elections scheduled for 2027, just 10 days after Maricarmen’s eviction, which sparked a wave of citizen protests.
In just over a week, the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal in Madrid has unleashed a series of events in Spain, including massive protests and encampments in squares across the country.
The aforementioned culminated on Friday with Congress rejecting the two housing decrees that the coalition government had urgently passed to address the situation.
The Catalan pro-independence party Junts per Catalunya strayed from the parliamentary majority that enabled the investiture of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and voted against the decrees alongside the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and the far-right Vox.
Amid rumors of a possible early election that have been circulating since Friday morning, government sources said that, after the vote, Sánchez entered a period of reflection to decide whether to hold early elections.
Meanwhile, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the main opposition party (PP), accused Sánchez of using the housing crisis for “electoral maneuvering” and urged him to set an election date as soon as possible.
«He can call them (elections) whenever he wants. For Spain’s sake, he should call them as soon as possible,» Feijóo added.
He has long called for elections due to corruption scandals tarnishing the government and the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español), Sánchez’s party.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal also called for elections, accusing the government of “deceiving the public on every issue,” including housing.
The electoral platform “Sumar,” the government’s minority coalition partner, acknowledged the complexity of the current situation for its party, which is still deciding on a leader, and confirmed that the government is evaluating the best time to call elections.
On Sep. 23. Maricarmen’s eviction from the Madrid home where she had lived for 70 years under a rent control lease sparked public protests and prompted the government to swiftly enact measures to prevent similar situations.
The government initially intended to pass a housing decree in July, but a lack of agreement delayed its approval. After the summer break, the “Maricarmen case” and nationwide street protests expedited the approval process.
The protests will continue throughout the weekend and call for a general strike.
The government coalition partners were not pleased with the idea of splitting the measures into two decrees, especially since the second decree, which referred to the indefinite extension of contracts that the partners had been demanding, raised suspicions among many political groups.
The government asked Junts, with Sánchez addressing Congress minutes before the vote, to vote in favor or abstain to pass the first decree, which contained eviction protections and limited lease extensions. They planned to process it as a bill, incorporating Junts’ suggestions.
However, the party led by former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont (2016-2017) voted against the decrees as expected, since the government refused to withdraw them as they had demanded.
Pressure on the streets heats up
The failure of both votes increased pressure in the streets, fueled by the Tenants’ Union, a protest that reached Congress on Friday and promises to continue.
Alicia del Río, spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union, announced that the encampment in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square, followed by many others across the country, will remain in place.
Amnesty International and Oxfam Intermón lamented Congress’s failure to ratify the two decrees, calling it a “clear setback” for the right to housing in Spain and condemning millions of people to “worse conditions.”EFE
csb-pc/dgp/mcd
