Star Metro - Spanish govt races to adopt housing law under protest pressure

Unaffordable housing has been a running sore for years in Spain, but the outcry over last Wednesday's eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal thrust the crisis to the forefront of the political debate.

Demonstrators have set up around 100 tents in Madrid's emblematic Puerta del Sol square since Saturday night, while tens of thousands of people have protested across the country.

The Socialist-led minority government was due to meet on Tuesday to finalise a text after days of frantic talks with far-left coalition partners Sumar and other parties.

Valeria Racu, a spokeswoman for the Madrid Tenants' Union, vowed the "spark" of protests "will not be snuffed out as long as we haven't put an end to speculation and the housing business."

"This is the last opportunity for the progressive government to clearly show that it can do something," Racu told reporters in Sol, a central square bustling with tourists and commuters.

"The cabinet will have to show which side it's on: with the people or with the investors and the speculators," said Racu, who demanded indefinite rental contracts as "the starting point".

Guillermo Mendez had travelled hundreds of kilometres from the northern region of Asturias to join the camp in Sol on Monday and warned the government against "sticking plaster" measures.

"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.

With "soaring rents, tourist apartments, sky-high housing prices, (and) gentrification" also blighting Asturias, Mendez said "it was something that made me feel I had to come here."

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."

F.T. Michaud--SMC