MADRID — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faces renewed pressure as housing protests in Madrid escalate and his left-wing allies demand tougher action, straining his coalition ahead of a key election year. Wheelchair-bound pensioner Maricarmen Abascal, 87, was forcibly removed from her home after living there since 1956, after failing to meet the new rental demands set by the investment firm that bought her building. Thousands marched through the capital on Saturday, with some protestors then pitching tents in the historic Puerto del Sol square.
By Monday, hundreds of tents had been erected. During a speech to protesters on Sunday, thousands echoed a chant denouncing “inversores culpables, gobierno responsable,” meaning “guilty investors, responsible government” Sánchez, who last week called the eviction was a “social tragedy,” is now scrambling to contain the situation by vowing to approve a long-delayed housing bill at Tuesday’s meeting of Spain’s Council of Ministers. But crafting legislation that his minority government can get through parliament is proving tricky.
The draft bill must be moderate enough to win the support of the Catalan separatist Junts party, which is conservative on landowners’ rights. But if the legislation is too lenient, Sánchez risks alienating his left-wing allies, accentuating his political isolation in a key election year. The beleaguered prime minister is already facing mounting pressure over the unresolved migrant crisis in Ceuta, as well as a slew of corruption scandals involving family members and close allies.
According to Spanish newspaper El País, a version of the draft text under negotiation on Monday night proposed extending protections against evictions for vulnerable tenants through 2028, capping rent increases at 2 percent in certain cases and offering tax breaks to tenants in rent-stressed areas. Additional measures would seek to ban speculative home purchases by investment funds and potentially raise taxes on short-term tourist flats. Those proposals fall short of the ambitious action Sumar, the smaller partner in Sánchez’s coalition, is demanding.
Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz on Monday called for the public to mobilize against her own government to ensure the draft bill is “up to task.” “In this country, rights don’t just fall from the sky,” she said. The current draft is also unlikely to satisfy the protesters occupying the square, who are demanding the legislation include the automatic renewal of rental contracts, tougher action against abusive landlords and a freeze on rents until the housing crisis is resolved. Collado said he had been forced to move back to his family’s home after his former landlord dramatically raised the monthly rent when he requested a legal rental contract.
With Spain due to hold national elections within the next year, Collado said the government would be making a big mistake if it didn’t take immediate steps to rectify the situation.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
