The Mayor of Madrid demands the housing camp be lifted and is considering legal action against the government delegate, who defends that the protest is peaceful and does not require police intervention.
The Puerta del Sol has been home to a camp of hundreds of people since Saturday, demanding measures to address the housing crisis. The protest has led to a confrontation between the Madrid City Council and the Government Delegation in Madrid over who should act to evict it, as reported by laregion.es.
Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida called on Monday for the camp to be lifted and announced he is considering legal action against the government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín. The mayor insists that the responsibility lies with the Delegation and recalled the precedent of the 15M movement.
It is the Government Delegation that lifts it, which is already proof of who has the authority
Almeida accused Martín of failing to prevent Saturday's demonstration from turning into a camp. According to his account, the Municipal Police requested assistance from the National Police and received instructions not to intervene; the national officers, he added, only parked two vans for four minutes in front of the Community Presidency before leaving.
The mayor warned that the City Council would not remain passive and hardened his stance hours later: he is exploring “legal options to proceed against the delegate” if he believes Martín continues to evade his responsibilities. For Almeida, this is “a matter of public order”.
The government delegate's response came during the opening ceremony of the judicial year. Martín defended that the camp is taking place without incidents and rejected the need for police intervention to evict it.
It is a reivindicative camp, but absolutely peaceful
According to the delegate, under these circumstances, the role of the State Security Forces is to “ensure citizen safety”, something he assured they will continue to do as long as necessary. Martín also responded to Almeida's accusations: “It seems almost obscene to hear something like that from the Mayor of Madrid”.
The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, spoke out about the housing proposals raised recently, which she labelled as “sectarian and deeply ideological”, and joked about the possibility of tenants being able to stay in a property based on their age.
Let me know from what age I stop paying my landlords so I can just stay in it
Ayuso criticized “changing the rules of the game for landlords, who have opened their homes and temporarily allowed the use of their property”. The Sol camp continues without a set deadline for its eviction.
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