Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has committed to bringing a new housing decree before the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, responding to the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid apartment that has become a flashpoint for nationwide anger over housing costs.
Speaking at a Socialist Party (PSOE) rally in Getafe on Sunday, Sánchez addressed Maricarmen directly. "Maricarmen, I have a message for you," he said, calling the housing crisis "a matter of humanity" that should transcend party lines. He said his government was working "against the clock" and urged parliamentary groups to make "one last effort" to approve the decree in Congress.
Maricarmen was removed from her home in Madrid's Retiro district earlier this week on a stretcher after seven decades in the same flat. She remains hospitalised. In a video recorded on Saturday, she appealed to the prime minister to pass legislation so that others would not endure "what has happened to me".
Her case has galvanised a movement. On Saturday, tens of thousands marched through the Spanish capital demanding lower housing costs and stronger protections for tenants. By Sunday morning, around 100 tents had appeared in the Puerta del Sol square, where protesters spent their first night camping. Organisers say the encampment emerged spontaneously, but solidarity gatherings have already been announced in Burgos, León, Córdoba and Almería.
Inside the camp, participants have organised banner-making workshops, yoga sessions and communal meals. It remains unclear how long they intend to stay. The Tenants' Union has warned it will only accept an ambitious package of measures, not a diluted version negotiated with the Catalan party Junts.
Political divisions and constitutional doubts
The eviction has exposed fissures within Spain's governing coalition. The left-wing Sumar party has called for the property to be expropriated so that Maricarmen can return home. Government minister Félix Bolaños rejected the proposal, arguing it lacks a "clear fit" within Spain's Constitution. Pablo Bustinduy, a minister representing Sumar, responded that his party would continue to back expropriation despite opposition from its Socialist partner.
Urbagestión, the investment fund that owns Maricarmen's former building, has faced sharp criticism from neighbourhood campaigners. Madrid City Council has rejected the fund's offer concerning the flat and launched its own mediation efforts.
The opposition People's Party has accused the government of "using Maricarmen to do politics", while the left-wing Podemos has warned against watering down the proposed housing measures during negotiations.
Among the measures reportedly under discussion with Junts are restrictions on evicting tenants from properties owned by investment funds and proposals to prevent such funds from acquiring additional residential properties. Government sources have expressed optimism that an agreement can be reached.
A movement with echoes of 15-M
The weekend demonstrations in Puerta del Sol have drawn comparisons with Spain's historic 15-M protests, which began on 15 May 2011. During those protests, members of the "indignados" movement camped in the square for 28 consecutive days, inspiring similar demonstrations across Spain and internationally. That movement emerged amid widespread anger over the consequences of the global financial crisis, including evictions, unemployment, austerity measures and corruption.
Political scientist and columnist Estefanía Molina said the latest protests reflect the growing severity of Spain's housing crisis. In 2011, "people protested because they couldn't buy an apartment", she told Spanish television. Today, the problem has spread to renters and long-term residents like Maricarmen.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar visited the camp on Sunday to express his support. "Maricarmen is the last straw," the 76-year-old told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. "It is absolutely unbearable for Spanish society to have this problem for another day. And politicians have to fix it because they are the ones who govern us."
Even if the government approves the decree on Tuesday, there is no guarantee the protesters will leave Puerta del Sol. The encampment has become a symbol of a broader crisis that stretches far beyond the Spanish capital, from wages failing to keep pace with home prices to the growing role of institutional investors in the rental market. As Sánchez's government races to legislate, the pressure from the street shows no sign of easing.
