Housing shortage | Maricarmen's success cannot remain symbolic

The street gives no rest. Despite initial successes, many protesters do not trust the government to adequately solve the housing crisis. Photo: AFP/Oscar del Pozo Maricarmen can return to her apartment. A success that would not have been possible without the massive pressure from the street. The outcry of the tens of thousands who pitched their tents in the middle of Madrid against forced evictions and rent extortion also had an impact on the government.

In two decrees it addresses the demonstrators' most important demands. Current rental contracts will be extended until 2028, and tenants will be better protected against evictions by 2030. Other, more ambitious demands, such as the automatic extension of rental contracts, were included in a separate decree. This is a good signal for the victims of the 25,000 forced evictions every year.

At the same time, an incident that took place just minutes after the decree was passed shows how necessary pressure and organization on the street remains. A few streets away from the camp, demonstrators from the camp prevented another attempt to evacuate. Police forces were already inside the apartment of Olga, an elderly woman who lives there with her family. When hundreds came from the camp to defend the woman, the officers left without having achieved anything. Olga and her family thanked the cheering crowd on the street from the balcony.

Wanting to brutally remove people from their apartments while at the same time a new law is being passed that is supposed to protect them from precisely such evictions shows how brazenly landlords are acting. Luckily, just a few meters away there was a whole square full of people whose anger about forced evictions could hardly be greater.

One can only hope that the demonstrators will not be appeased by Maricarmen's rather symbolic success and will carry on. Many voices in Puerta del Sol do not trust the government to take adequate measures to address the housing crisis. They want more than the two decrees that still have to be confirmed by Parliament on Friday. They are calling for permanent rental contracts, a 50 percent reduction in rents, the expropriation of empty apartments from “vulture funds” and holiday apartment providers, and a complete ban on forced evictions.

“So that there will be a general strike!” a speaker shouted into the microphone on Monday. A solution that does not attack profit and speculation in housing is actually no longer a solution for many.

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