Hundreds camp out at Puerta del Sol against housing crisis

Protesters who took part in the housing crisis protest in Madrid improvised a camp-out at Puerta del Sol, EL PAÍS reported on its Instagram account this Saturday, September 27. The protest recalls the 15-M movement, which emerged in the same square 15 years ago against precariousness, and brings together people who stayed up through the night or rested in tents set up in the area.

The mobilization began after a demonstration in central Madrid to protest the eviction of Maricarmen, according to the newspaper Expansión. Activities planned for the camp include direct-action workshops, tours of apartment blocks bought by investment funds, and the reception of platforms of early-childhood schools.

This social protest coincides with the government's deliberations over a housing decree it plans to approve next week. According to Expansión and El País, negotiations over the decree are exploring measures such as a moratorium on evictions and mechanisms to cap revisions of contracts signed before 2023 if prices spiral out of control, as well as studying changes to the reference indices for rents.

On the political front, the newspaper Expansión noted in its analysis of the decree that parties such as Sumar are being questioned over the attention they pay to the windfall gains of funds and developers compared with the impact on the vulnerable, while protesters maintain their intention to stay in the square at least until Tuesday.