Spain aims to ban evictions until 2030 amid housing protests

The halt to evictions and the support for open-ended rental contracts were key demands of the tenants’ unions who have spearheaded the protests.

But Valeria Racu, a spokeswoman for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, said “this has only just begun”, calling for more protests across Spain next weekend.

Beyond Sol square, a bustling hub full of tourists and commuters, Spanish media reported that smaller encampments had also mushroomed in the southern cities of Seville and Malaga.

Guillermo Mendez, who had travelled hundreds of kilometres from the northern region of Asturias to join the Madrid camp, said only “structural changes will change things”.

“It has to be something on a national scale, general strikes, protests,” the 40-year-old tourist guide told AFP from his green tent.

Abascal, who was evicted on a stretcher from her Madrid home of 70 years, has become a symbol of popular anger at runaway housing prices and a lack of tenant protections.

A deal was announced on Monday for her to return after negotiations with the real estate firm that owned her apartment, which the Madrid Tenants’ Union said hiked her monthly rent by 275 percent to 2,650 euros ($3,000).

Mendez said it was “great” Abascal’s case had been resolved, but added: “it’s a plaster on a huge wound that the economy and society of this country are suffering.”