‘Now is the moment’: housing activists at Madrid encampment pin wary hopes on Spain’s early election

Campaigners set up in more than 1,200 tents in Puerto del Sol square say challenge now is to translate a groundswell of public support into concrete change

At a makeshift lunch counter tucked within a maze of tents at a housing protest camp in Madrid, Sélpide San Luis pointed to the dizzying pace of change.

“We built a city in a week,” said the 26-year-old, whose videos documenting day-to-day life at the encampment have attracted tens of thousands of views on social media, as she pointed to the more than 1,200 tents set up in the central Puerta del Sol square. “We have urban planning, the streets have names and we’ve put surveillance systems in place. And thanks to what we’re doing here, media have not stopped talking about the issue of housing, something that we’ve been trying to get on the agenda for so long.”

This week marked another significant moment for the impromptu movement. After days of protests and encampments that have sprouted up across the country after the eviction from of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her home, the country’s Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced a snap general election in response to rightwing parties torpedoing emergency legislation to tackle the housing crisis.

Housing campaigners vowed to keep up the pressure. “The power of the people has ushered in a new era,” said Alicia del Río of the Madrid Tenants’ Union, as she floated plans for a general strike in November.

“An election campaign is now beginning that will be deeply shaped by the housing issue. So we ask the members of parliament, are you going to introduce the measures that people are demanding, ones demanded by the majority of voters across all parties, or are you going to continue to be the lackeys of the rentier economy?”

The election, which did not have to held until August 2027 - is a high-stakes gamble for Sánchez. Polls suggest the most likely outcome will be a rightwing coalition between the People’s party and the far-right, anti-immigration Vox party.

But as anger seethes over rents that have surged 80% in a decade and housing costs that have risen by 63%, the protests also present Sánchez with an opportunity to keep his leftwing coalition in power.

“Bringing forward the elections is risky. But there’s also a feeling of ‘now is the moment,” said Antonio Prieto, 36, as he and other volunteers transformed the steady stream of food donations into lunch for those at the Madrid camp.

“If we had waited until 2027, the right and far right would have crushed us. And now, at least with this momentum, putting the focus on housing, we can have a tiny bit of hope.”

Prieto was among the many closely watching the parties to the left of the Socialists, hoping they will unite to form a broad front before the election. “I’m hopeful that what we’re doing has really got through, so that parties on the left realise that this is a big issue and they start working on real solutions,” he said.

The eviction of Abascal, a wheelchair user who was carried from the home she had lived in for more than seven decades on a stretcher, catapulted the long-simmering frustration over the deepening housing crisis into public view. It cast a spotlight on the intense competition for housing across Spain, one that pits local people against tourists lets, investment funds and short-term rentals.

As a wave of outrage swept the country, the investment firm that bought Abascal’s home said she could return home without paying the 230% rent hike they had reportedly demanded. But the protests and encampments have continued to gain strength as people demand change.

Prieto described them as a “moral duty”, given that the Spanish constitution recognises the right to “decent and adequate housing” for all. “What we’re seeing is a systematic violation of the constitution … So we have to be here,” he said.

The growing tent city has had visitors too, some to snap photos, others to ask questions and some to provoke. But the vast majority express their support, said Juan Vázquez of the Housing Union of Carabanchel, a district in the south of Madrid.

“People of all ages have stopped by to wish us strength, bring us water and food, and tell us to keep going,” he said.

The challenge now is to translate the groundswell of support into concrete change. “On the one hand we have a rightwing that pursues policies of misery and directly attacks the working class,” Vázquez said. “But on the other hand, Sánchez and his government have not gone after the profits that speculative rentiers make from our misery.”

He described the coming weeks, as people across Spain prepare to vote, as crucial. “Basically, what we want is to channel all this energy so that it doesn’t just remain a footnote in a week-long encampment, to organise, apply pressure and secure our rights. We know that the organisation of the working class is the only means of looking after our interests.”

The scale of the protests has hopefully made it clear to everyone just what was at stake, said Jorge Rubio, 27. “If you don’t vote, the impact could be huge. You could end up without a place to live,” he said, citing rooms for rent that had surged from €180 to €700 (£150 to £600) a month in six years. “It’s crazy. It’s not viable. We’re all affected by this,” he said.

He was among the many hoping the movement would go further. “Housing is not just a problem here, it’s a European problem. The revolution needs to reach them too.”