Parliament rejects tenant-protection measures, protests in 50 cities in Spain

New housing protests will take place in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday, a day after parliament threw out two government measures to strengthen protections for tenants.

The government presented the measures after nationwide protests following the eviction, on a stretcher, of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from a Madrid apartment where she had lived for about seven decades.

The defeat was another political setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and has renewed questions over whether his minority government can survive until the next general elections scheduled for 2027.

The Catalan separatist party Junts, whose support was essential to pass the two decrees, voted against them, arguing that they lacked rigor.

After the vote, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the main opposition People’s Party (PP), called on Sánchez to “call elections as soon as possible.”

After eight years in power, Sánchez had the support of “neither the streets nor parliament,” he added.

Recent opinion polls have generally placed the opposition People’s Party ahead of the Socialists.

The Tenants’ Union, which has coordinated the protests, has called for demonstrations on Saturday in more than 50 cities.

“There is an irreparable disconnect between what people want and what the parties vote for,” it said in a statement.

In Madrid, activists and protesters have camped for about a week in Puerta del Sol, one of the capital’s main tourist squares.

Demonstrators will set off from several locations around the city at midday before gathering in Plaza de Cibeles in central Madrid.

The package of measures rejected on Friday included the automatic renewal of rental contracts when they expire, as well as measures aimed at limiting the eviction of vulnerable tenants.

They also targeted so-called predatory funds, investment firms that buy properties at low prices in pursuit of higher returns.

Housing has been a major concern for Spaniards for years, as supply has not kept up with demand, with rents and house prices rising sharply, as in other European Union countries.

Average rents in Spain have almost doubled over the past decade, while asking prices for homes have risen by about 90 percent, according to the real-estate website Idealista.

The eviction of Abascal catalyzed ongoing anger over high housing costs.

She was forced to leave the Madrid apartment where she had lived after it was bought by an investment company that sought to raise her rent by 275 percent, according to housing activists.

The backlash led the property’s new owners to reach an agreement allowing her to return to the apartment at a low rent.