Overview
- Last month’s televised eviction of 87‑year‑old Maricarmen Abascal helped turn housing into the top political issue and has driven tens of thousands into the streets and tent camps in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.
- Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a snap general election for November 29 after his emergency housing decrees were rejected in parliament by right‑wing MPs.
- Hours after Sánchez’s announcement, protests in Barcelona turned violent with projectiles, burning bins, injuries and multiple arrests while demonstrations and encampments continued in Madrid.
- The main political split is now clear: the left and tenant groups push for measures to limit evictions and curb investor buy‑ups, and the centre‑right PP, led by Alberto Núñez Feijoo, vows to speed up planning and build hundreds of thousands of new homes each year.
- Spain faces a long‑term shortfall of roughly 750,000 homes that could approach one million by 2028, has very little social housing, and unions have threatened a 24‑hour national strike to demand higher wages to help people afford housing.