Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Mass demonstrations against evictions and for the right to housing

By Arsén Sabaté Thursday, February 21, 2013 Last Saturday, February 16, the PAH (“Platform of those affected by mortgages”) organized demonstrations throughout Spain, against the calamity of the evictions and for the right to housing. In 2012, an average of 526 evictions daily were carried out throughout Spain. And, since 2008 until now, more than […]

Left Voice

February 22, 2013
Facebook Twitter Share

By Arsén Sabaté

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Last Saturday, February 16, the PAH (“Platform of those affected by mortgages”) organized demonstrations throughout Spain, against the calamity of the evictions and for the right to housing. In 2012, an average of 526 evictions daily were carried out throughout Spain. And, since 2008 until now, more than 400,000 evictions have been ordered. As if that were not enough, a big rise in suicides is emerging, caused by this tragedy, that has increased, in view of harassment by banks and the threats of evictions. Year after year, the incomes of the banks Santander, BBVA and La Caixa have been increasing as they continue leaving people without a roof to live under.

The demonstrations were very massive in the main cities, with the one in Barcelona being the largest. Chants like, “Yes, we can” or “The next one evicted will be a Deputy” made themselves heard, and [there were] signs with slogans like “Stop evictions,” “For the right to housing, against financial genocide,” or more forceful ones, like “Fascist politicians, killers hired by terrorist bankers.” The reasons we demonstrated continue to be the most dramatic results of the scourges generated by this capitalist crisis, in which the banks are acting shamelessly with the support of the political class, against the working class and the poor.

In Madrid, where they also went out to the streets, one of most critical moments was when some demonstrators recognized Beatriz Talegón and López Aguilar, the Justice Minister in Zapatero’s government, and booed at them until they left the demonstration, accompanied by the police. Beatriz Talegón, Secretary General of the International Union of Socialist Youth, is the same person who, a week earlier, harangued and showed the leaders of the Socialist International up for their lack of scruples in calling meetings in five-star hotels and traveling in luxurious automobiles. However, Talegón forgot that she is the representative of one of the guilty parties and promoters of urban speculation and the policies of rescuing banks at the expense of workers and the poor.

Fortunately, over and above her statements about the “renewal” of social democracy, it is impossible for millions of people to forget the role that the PSOE has played in government. The demonstrations in Seville, Valencia, the Basque Country, Murcia, and a large number of other cities, showed the solidarity that is emerging regarding evictions and the capitalist crisis in general.

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Archive

The Unknown Paths of the Late Marx

An interview with Marcello Musto about the last decade of Marx's life.

Marcello Musto

February 27, 2022

The Critical Left in Cuba

Frank García Hernández discusses the political and economic situation in Cuba and the path out of the current crisis.

Frank García Hernández

February 27, 2022

Nancy Fraser and Counterhegemony

A presentation from the Fourth International Marxist Feminist Conference.

Josefina L. Martínez

February 27, 2022

Who is Anasse Kazib?

Meet the Trotskyist railway worker running for president of France.

Left Voice

February 27, 2022

MOST RECENT

A square in Argentina is full of protesters holding red banners

48 Years After the Military Coup, Tens of Thousands in Argentina Take to the Streets Against Denialism and the Far Right

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina on March 24 to demand justice for the victims of the state and the military dictatorship of 1976. This year, the annual march had renewed significance, defying the far-right government’s denialism and attacks against the working class and poor.

Madeleine Freeman

March 25, 2024

The Convulsive Interregnum of the International Situation

The capitalist world is in a "permacrisis" — a prolonged period of instability which may lead to catastrophic events. The ongoing struggles for hegemony could lead to open military conflicts.

Claudia Cinatti

March 22, 2024

Berlin’s Mayor Loves Antisemites

Kai Wegner denounces the “antisemitism” of left-wing Jews — while he embraces the most high-profile antisemitic conspiracy theorist in the world.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 22, 2024

What “The Daily” Gets Right and Wrong about Oregon’s Move to Recriminalize Drugs

A doctor at an overdose-prevention center responds to The Daily, a podcast produced by the New York Times, on the recriminalization of drugs in Oregon. What are the true causes of the addiction crisis, and how can we solve it?

Mike Pappas

March 22, 2024