Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid and other Spanish cities this Saturday, intensifying their demands for measures to tackle the growing housing crisis, after government measures were rejected by the opposition.
Some protesters displayed signs calling for a general strike after the measures drafted to curb public anger over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, as well as other housing issues, were rejected by Parliament on Friday.
“It’s a pity,” said Nando de Anguulo, 26, who took part in Saturday’s protest in Madrid. “This only proves that it is we, the people, who have to adapt to the political parties, and not the parties to what the people want, and this cannot continue like this.”
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, could call for early elections in November after the bill’s rejection, Spanish media reported on Friday. He would be watching the intensity of Saturday’s protests before making a decision.
Sánchez’s government declined to comment on the reports.
In the city of Valencia, in the southeast of the country, protesters clashed with police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protests.
Around 30 protesters managed to enter the City of Arts and Sciences, an emblematic city cultural building, before being expelled by the police. Other demonstrations in 50 Spanish cities proceeded peacefully.
Valeria Racu, spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union, told reporters in Madrid that a general strike would be called after negotiations with the unions.
About 70,000 protesters participated in Saturday’s demonstration in Madrid, the Spanish government said.
The protests planned in Barcelona and the neighboring city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat were canceled due to heavy rain.
(Reporting by Graham Keeley, Leonardo Benassatto, Jaime Lopez, Alejandro Martinez, Juan Barbosa and Elena Rodriguez)
