Madrid (AFP) - The Spanish Congress this Friday overturned the two housing decrees promoted by the government of socialist Pedro Sánchez, dealing a hard blow to the Executive, while protesters called for intensifying protests.

First modification: 10/02/2026 - 19:38 Last modification: 10/02/2026 - 20:38

"Shame, shame!", launched the thousands of people gathered around Congress when they heard the result, amid calls for a "general strike."

The Spanish Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, stated that the deputies of the Popular Party (right), Vox (extreme right) and Junts (Catalan independence supporters) were "seriously wrong" and "will pay for this political error at the polls."

Minutes before, the first of the decrees had been rejected by 178 votes against and 172 in favor. The text had been approved on Tuesday by the left-wing government to address the serious housing crisis affecting the country.

The second, which started with fewer possibilities of prospering, obtained 184 votes against and 166 in favor.

In a very fragmented Chamber, in which the government does not have a majority, Sánchez's last-minute intervention was not enough either, who asked to speak minutes before the vote to urge the deputies to be "brave."

"I ask you to live up to what the citizens are asking of us," he said.

"We have to fight it"

Thousands of protesters arriving from the central Puerta del Sol, where a camp was set up almost a week ago to demand solutions to the housing crisis, followed the session from outside.

"It seemed a bit coming, but hey, we have to fight for it anyway," David Llamas, a 26-year-old computer scientist who still lives with his parents because he has not been able to become independent due to high rent prices, told AFP.

"There is an irreparable disconnection between what the people want and what the parties vote for in a hijacked Congress," said the Tenants' Union, which called for new protests this Saturday in Madrid and dozens of other cities in Spain.

The government approved these decrees in the midst of a wave of protests unleashed after the eviction last week of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman from Madrid who was forced to leave the apartment where she had lived for seven decades.

The texts included, among other measures, the automatic renewal of rental contracts when they expire and restrictions on evictions of vulnerable tenants. They also targeted the so-called "vulture funds", entities that acquire properties at a low price to maximize their profitability.

Early elections?

Given the fall of the decrees, the opposition intensified its calls for Sánchez to advance the legislative elections, initially scheduled for 2027.

"The sooner the elections take place, the better, but they must be transparent, free and without cheating," said the leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, in the halls of Congress. From the Executive environment there were no signs that this possibility was on the table.

The lack of affordable housing has been one of the main social problems in Spain for years, but the protests gained strength after the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, after her home was acquired by an investment company that intended to raise her rent by 275%.

According to the Bank of Spain, the country, with around 50 million inhabitants, has a deficit of around 700,000 homes.

bur-rs-ml-du/meb

© 2026 AFP

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.