Basque Country Sees Massive Protests Demanding Housing Rights and Anti-Speculation Measures

• Over 15,000 people took to the streets in Bilbao to demand an end to housing speculation and forced evictions.
• Demonstrations occurred simultaneously across Donostia, Gasteiz, and Iruñea, signaling a major regional movement.
• The protests were triggered by the Spanish Parliament's rejection of key housing decrees, which had aimed to limit evictions and extend rental protections.

Legislative Context

• The Spanish government's two proposed housing decrees were struck down by a coalition of PP, Vox, Junts, and UPN.
• The failed legislation included protections for vulnerable tenants against evictions by large corporate landlords, rental contract extensions, and caps on rent hikes.

Key Details of the Mobilization

• Bilbao witnessed its largest-ever housing rights protest, drawing a diverse crowd of youth, families, and pensioners.
• In Gasteiz, families recently evicted from their homes led the march, highlighting the immediate human cost of the housing crisis.
• Protesters explicitly targeted banks (Santander, BBVA) and political offices (PNV), chanting slogans against rentiers and the prioritization of property profits over basic human rights.

Demands and Implications

• The movement characterizes housing as a fundamental right rather than a commercial asset.
• Activists rejected the government's failed decrees as insufficient, calling instead for structural changes such as the expropriation of properties from large investment funds and a drastic reduction in rental prices.
• Organizers emphasized that past achievements have been won through grassroots struggle rather than legislative bargaining.