Thousands march in Madrid for Maricarmen. Housing dominates the pre-campaign
Thursday’s march, from the Sol encampment to the dead woman’s flat, closes a day of recriminations between parties. The housing decrees, the Nov. 11 strike and the left’s lists all collide 51 days before the vote.
Thousands of people walked on Thursday evening from the Sol encampment to the flat of María del Carmen Abascal, “Maricarmen,” on Calle Alcalde Sáinz de Baranda, in the Retiro district. The 87-year-old woman, whose eviction set off the early election, died on Wednesday. The media do not agree on the size of the march: El Mundo speaks of “thousands” and Europa Press of “hundreds,” and the reports we reviewed give no official figure. El País recorded the marchers’ cry, “These are not deaths, they are murders!”, and the neighbors’ memory of her: “She was a very lively person. The eviction finished her off.” The cause of death has not been officially announced. The Sol encampment, which began after the big demonstration of Sept. 26, is still standing; even then the Government Delegation and the organizers disagreed over turnout, 25,000 people against 300,000 according to each side, the coverage of that day reported.
The protest did not stay in Madrid. El País reported that in Barcelona a vulnerable woman with two minor children was evicted the day after Maricarmen’s death; this comes from a single outlet and we have not been able to corroborate it. The BBC reported that the marchers blame the housing crisis on “vulture funds,” and Reuters described how Spanish politicians are trading blame over the elderly woman’s death, which has become a symbol of the movement.
The debate has moved to the housing decrees that the press already knows by her name. El Mundo explains that rental listings have fallen since their approval because of a precautionary withdrawal of supply: landlords are taking flats off the market for fear of regulation. This is one newspaper’s reading and does not mean rents cost less. One of the decrees is in force; the one extending rental contracts depends on the Standing Committee (Diputación Permanente), which has until Nov. 14.
On the electoral chessboard, El Mundo reports that Ada Colau and Montero are talking directly to unblock the integration of Podemos into the Broad Front, and El País that the ERC leadership is preparing the scenario of a ticket without Rufián; ERC has not announced any break. The PP’s Borja Sémper told El País that “the PP is not going to get another chance.” Meanwhile, the general strike of Nov. 11 is still on, and El Mundo is already publishing a guide to rights for workers and companies.
There are 51 days to go until Nov. 29, and housing is the axis of the campaign. Today it is worth watching whether the Government or the Community of Madrid spell out measures for evictions already under way, whether the strike adds more unions, and how the parties respond to the pressure from the street, which has not died down since September.