The Congress of Deputies has once again become the scene of a parliamentary battle that has left the Government in a fragile position. With the votes against of PP, Vox i Junts per Catalunya, the two decree-laws on housing approved this very week by the Council of Ministers have been repealed. The first text, which included a broad package of measures to increase the supply of affordable housing, had entered into force with high expectations, but did not receive the necessary support to move forward. The second decree, which established the automatic renewal of rental contracts, lasted only 16 hours in force and obtained 167 votes in favor compared to 184 against.
The vote that vanishes: the overturned decrees and their key measures
The first repealed text included an ambitious set of measures aimed at transforming the housing market. Among the main ones are the ban on evictions until 2030, the limitation of rent price increases, the ban on speculative purchasing by the so-called «vulture funds» —without clearly defining what is meant by this term—, the regulation of tourist and room rentals, as well as tax deductions for tenants and bonuses for landlords who reduced rent amounts.
The speed with which the second decree was repealed, the one regulating the automatic renewal of contracts, highlights the Government's fragility in this matter. Only 16 hours after entering into force, the text was rendered ineffective. A situation that highlights the difficulty of governing by decree-laws when the opposition has the capacity for an immediate response and the numbers in the plenary session do not usually add up.
Streets that will not be silenced: the encampment in Sol and the call for a general strike
While the parliamentary debate faded with the defeat of the decrees, the streets took center stage. The Tenants' Union is maintaining the encampment at Puerta del Sol of Madrid, where more than 200 militants have been deployed during the week. The spokesperson for the union in Madrid, Valeria Racu, has assured that the encampment «no longer needs them» as an organization to move forward, an implicit recognition that the protest has taken on a life of its own and goes «much further» than the union.
Racu explained that the membership will remain involved in the protest but «with less of a presence» from now on, concentrating their forces on preparing a general strike that seeks a «historic and very broad» participation. Different unions and associations have conveyed their intention to maintain the encampment until a general strike is declared due to the housing crisis. Racu herself expressed that «it must be the encampment itself that decides autonomously in an assembly how long it wishes to extend itself and with what political objectives.» This stance reflects a desire to decentralize decision-making and prevent it from remaining in the hands of a single organization.
The demonstrations called for this weekend reach more than 50 cities across the State, with a clear call «towards a general strike» that has been consolidating throughout the week. The housing crisis has become one of the cross-cutting issues uniting different sectors of civil society, from young people to families with children, as well as elderly people who see how rent prices make it unfeasible for them to remain in their homes.
Political reactions: Puigdemont, Montero and the government crisis
Political reactions were not long in coming. Carles Puigdemont has published a text on social media where he describes the PSOE as a «group of irresponsible people» who govern «without principles» and with the sole interest of «saving» their own party. For Puigdemont, the repeal of the decrees is «very useful electorally» for the PSOE, a defeat that allows them to «attribute to the malice of the opposition, and especially and obsessively to Junts per Catalunya, all the housing problems that citizens have.».
«This group of cynics,» Puigdemont concluded, «prefers to turn the seven deputies of Junts per Catalunya into the target of all threats (all very democratic and progressive, of course), of all insults, of all defamations.» The republican leader described this Friday's debate as «one of the most obscene political propaganda operations paid for with public money, at the service of an electoral campaign that will be very soon or very late, but it will be.».
From the Government's side, Irene Montero, political secretary and MEP for Podemos, has supported the call for a «general strike» led this week by the Tenants« Union to »force the system to change.« Montero avoided answering whether the President of the Government should call elections, stating that it is a matter that is not »in her hands« nor »in those of most of the people who are...". The interruption of the message hints at the caution with which the Government's allies must move in these times of crisis.
From the Government it has been stated that Pedro Sánchez will take a few days of reflection to evaluate the possibility of bringing forward the general elections. A decision that would mean a radical turn in the legislature and that would open a period of unprecedented political uncertainty. Government sources have not clarified whether this reflection implies a decision already made or simply the start of an internal evaluation that could lead to various scenarios.
The housing crisis has become the mirror reflecting the fragilities of an Executive that governed with a fragile majority and is now forced to rethink its objectives. The repeal of the decrees is not only a legislative defeat, but a symptom of a broader situation where the capacity to approve structural reforms is shrinking day by day.
While the encampment at Puerta del Sol consolidates as a symbol of citizen protest and cities across the State prepare for the weekend demonstrations, the Spanish political landscape enters a phase of unprecedented uncertainty. Sánchez's decision on the elections, the ability of trade unions to call a general strike with massive support, and the reaction of opposition parties will be the keys determining the coming months.
The situation in the streets and in Congress makes this week a turning point that could redefine the course of the legislature. The housing crisis is no longer just a matter of housing policy, but a factor conditioning the very stability of the Government and the future of the political debate in the State.
The Call for Housing continues to resonate in the State with a force that goes beyond parliamentary calls, and the crisis affecting everything from major capitals to the most peripheral territories does nothing but grow. The eviction of Benítez beach in Ceuta, with the migration crisis behind it, is yet another example of how the lack of adequate housing affects the most vulnerable populations in a context of growing social emergency.
