Housing activists staged protests to halt evictions across Spain on Wednesday, a day after Spain's government approved two housing decrees, including a temporary ban on evictions.
Spain's government on Tuesday approved two housing decrees whose rejection by parliament last week prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call a snap election.
In central Madrid, near the Sol Square housing camp, activists celebrated the suspension of the eviction of 67-year-old Mariangeles Pulido.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and by how much support they’ve given me," she said.
The measures, which include rent caps, a temporary ban on evictions and limits on corporate purchases of residential property, were "based on plain common sense," Sanchez said at a press conference on Tuesday, arguing that opinion surveys showed the public was broadly in favour of intervention in the property market.
The decree was published in the official state gazette on Wednesday but is due to come into effect only on Thursday. It then needs to be sent for approval by lawmakers remaining in place after parliament was dissolved.
In Barcelona, dozens of protesters gathered on Llenguadoc Street, where authorities, the tenants' union and property owners were negotiating options for the planned eviction of a building occupied by 50 people, including families, according to the Catalonia tenants' union.
Sanchez said on Monday he was bringing forward an election previously scheduled for 2027 because his failure to garner enough support for his proposals to address a housing crisis made him realise he needed more seats in parliament.