Overview
- The unrest began after the televised eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal and escalated into large protests and encampments that swept dozens of cities, concentrating in Madrid.
- Lawmakers voted down the government's emergency housing decrees on Friday, leaving the measures without parliamentary approval and prompting renewed street mobilization.
- The protests, which erupted on Saturday, October 3, drew widely different attendance claims — organisers said about 500,000 in Madrid while government officials estimated 70,000 — and some demonstrations turned confrontational with arrests reported in Valencia.
- Ministers have publicly announced emergency steps including a proposed ban on evictions until 2030, automatic contract rollovers and tighter rules on short-term lets and investor purchases, but the legal text and parliamentary fate remain uncertain.
- The dispute has put Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s minority coalition under severe strain, sparked calls for a general strike from tenant groups and raised the real possibility that Sánchez could call a snap election, shifting the immediate political landscape.