Madrid eviction: minister demands housing decree
Maricarmen’s eviction in Madrid has sharpened a row over housing policy. On 24 September, Social Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy demanded that a housing decree and a legal takeover of her former home be approved at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. He said the eviction marked a turning point.
Bustinduy wants the decree to extend rental contracts. The junior partner in Spain’s governing coalition has sent the Socialist Party, PSOE, a written demand to pass both measures.
He says the PSOE has yet to honour a July agreement on the decree. His side had already pressed for action in the Cabinet in March, when the government agreed to return to the issue in July.
Bustinduy said people on the left would not accept evictions such as Maricarmen’s under a progressive government. If the right-wing opposition later rejects formal confirmation of the measure, he said, it should face social pressure.
Maricarmen’s former home was bought by an investment fund, according to the minister. Bustinduy rejected claims that taking it over would be “Chavista”, arguing that the Constitution and the law allow it where property’s social role and the public interest take priority.
He also hit back at Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of encouraging people to “burn the streets”. Bustinduy said Ayuso was trying to divert attention with the remarks.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com