Editorial introduction: there were violent scenes in Madrid a week ago as an elderly woman, known only by her first name Maricarmen, was evicted from the flat in which she had lived for years. Protests quickly erupted, not only in Madrid itself, but across Spain, including in Seville, where this interview was conducted.
Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, introduced two bills in parliament, insufficient to deal with the housing crisis, but enough, he hoped, to take the sting out of the protests. But in the event, both bills were voted down by a combination of right wing and Catalan parties.
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Report from Porelsocialismo in Seville
September 28 will remain historic in Seville; after 15 years, the Plaza de La Seta [a large open square in old Seville], as in the rest of the country, is once again filled with young students and workers fighting on an issue that has gone from sixteenth place in polls to first place in the needs of working families.
We saw images of the police breaking down the door of the house, by order of a judge, and the subsequent eviction of an 87-year-old woman on a stretcher, later transferred to the hospital. These images have gone around the world; it has been the straw that has broken the camel’s back.
But people have said: Enough is enough! We can’t take it any more, we are going to fight like Maricarmen until the last; we have nothing to lose and we have a new world to gain.
Before today’s assembly we contacted Antonio, an activist from the Tenants’ Union of Seville, and he gave his opinion on the housing struggle and how he sees the situation of the government’s decrees.
What is your impression of the struggle that the tenants’ union is leading?
“This has just begun. The government had until today to accept the ultimatum; the “most progressive” government has turned a deaf ear, has not complied with the demands we set for them.
“This has just begun; it is very evident that people were waiting for something to encourage them to go out. Maricarmen has been a symbol and here in Seville we have many Maricarmen. Like José, who was going to be evicted but it has not been possible due to the pressure of neighbours and friends”.
How was the concentration on Monday 28 at La Seta? Were there many people?
“It was tremendous, but we are also angry at the government that has tried to fool us”.
What do you think of presenting two bills in parliament on the same day? Do you think it is a way of dividing citizens who are mobilised?
“What they have tried to do is sell us a cat for a hare. They know that the first decree is insufficient and that the second one is not going to pass; that is why they have two decrees. The first decree is not valid for us because prohibiting the purchase of vulture funds until 2028 is insufficient; after the 28th we will have the same problem.
“And the vulture funds and the large housing banks not only buy the homes to sell them in the short term, but they also buy them to put them up for rent and carry out abusive practices. And on the other hand, the fact that they have approved the prohibition of eviction of vulnerable people is beautiful, but that these people can be evicted within 2 years is not the solution; if it is not legitimate now, it is not legitimate in two years”.
Yesterday at the rally the slogan was chanted: “Expropriation of the vulture funds“, are you going to maintain that slogan? What do you think?
“Yes, we continue to maintain that demand; the government is trying to give one lime and another sand, it proposes to approve the decrees and just yesterday it was beating the demonstrators in the rallies and demonstrations of housing.
“Pedro Sánchez came out bragging about the decree; and his minister Óscar Puente has come out saying that expropriation is impossible, that it costs a lot of money, but when it is necessary to rescue the banks, as in the subprime mortgage crisis”.
What mobilizations do you have planned in the coming days?
“The assembly today is the first that we have had in a while, and we are going to decide on the roadmap for these days. We are a union and we believe that we have to make decisions together in the most democratic way possible and we want to listen to the people, to those who support us, and the path that is opening up is a general strike”.
Yesterday they chanted “a general strike is needed, a general strike is needed now” among other class slogans such as the “expropriation of the vulture funds”, “here is the working class” and “Workers and students united forward“. Many of us who lived through 15M believe that this housing struggle in its beginnings is at a higher level of class consciousness than 15 years ago; the slogans of the working class are predominant today, what do you think of this?
“We are going to continue the struggle if the Assembly so decides; in principle we have activities throughout the day and an assembly in the afternoon, every day at 8pm, where all the people who are present can participate in a democratic and participatory way. On Saturday we have called a demonstration; from here we call on all the citizens of Seville to join this concentration in La Seta and the demonstration on Saturday”.
Our wishes: Courage, much strength and good luck. And that decent housing is achieved, no to the speculation of houses; housing is a social need and should not be a market commodity; for the creation of social housing with affordable prices for working families and young people; indefinite and affordable rental contracts for vulnerable families; rent not exceeding 20% of salary; no more, Maricarmen, no more evictions, expropriation of vulture funds now!
[Translated from the Spanish socialist website Porelsocialismo, original here]
[Feature photo is an image of a rally in Seville in solidarity with Maricarmen taken by the author]
