The housing encampment in Puerta del Sol will continue after the Congress of Deputies struck down the two government decrees this Friday. The spokespersons for the Tenants' Union, Alicia del Río and Valeria Racu, have confirmed that the protest continues and have called for it to be extended to neighborhoods and to demonstrations called throughout Spain. At the doors of the Chamber, attendees responded to the defeat of the measures with shouts of "A general strike is needed now".
"Spain has a Congress hijacked by landlords, by speculators, foreign investors and funds with a right-wing that shamelessly kneels before speculation," Racu denounced after the votes. The spokesperson accused the parties that rejected the decrees of acting against the interests of their own voters and pointed to the right-wing as responsible for the crisis due to their housing policies.
Her criticisms also reached the Government and the left-wing groups, whom she reproached for being "incapable" of "advancing rights, protecting the population and solving the country's unrest". "This is a circus and we no longer want to put up with this circus," she stated. Faced with the parliamentary result, the Union proposes strengthening the organization that has grown in recent days around Sol.
Del Río has defended that "a new political cycle" led by the people begins and has reiterated the continuity of the encampment, which began last Saturday after the demonstration for the eviction of Maricarmen, 87 years old. "Now begins the true housing legislature that has failed in Congress," she maintained. The organization has called a new assembly this Friday at 8:00 p.m. in the square, after addressing reports about its supposed dismantling.
The general strike they are calling for still has no fixed date. The Union wants to prepare it with labor, environmental, feminist organizations and other social movements. "We are moving towards a general strike with our alliances of labor unionism, the environmental movement, the feminist movement, of all the movements that from below generate popular power," Del Río explained. He also responded to the pressure from Isabel Díaz Ayuso's Government to evict Sol, assuring that the Madrid president "is very bothered by the encampment."
The Union reaffirmed this position in the message disseminated on its networks after the vote.
Han caído los reales decretos. Pero no han caído nuestras razones.
— Sindicato de Inquilinas e Inquilinos de Madrid (@InquilinatoMad) October 2, 2026
Hemos superado obstáculos y seguiremos. Frente al rentismo y frente a quienes, desde la política, han troceado y votado en contra de estos reales decretos, no vamos a retroceder.
Ganaremos esta batalla. pic.twitter.com/OUlg36lubW
From Sol to Congress amid indignation and calls for a strike
The day began with a march from Sol towards Congress around ten in the morning. Hundreds of demonstrators followed the plenary session from the vicinity, limited by the police presence, while listening to the interventions and the vote on their phones. Upon confirmation of the rejection, they chanted "Shame," "Their profits, our misery," and calls for a general strike, before returning to the square.
The disappointment was especially intense among those who hoped that at least the first decree would pass. "There is anger because it was the minimum, with which I was not entirely satisfied, and not even the minimum is done," Marcelo, a 19-year-old student, explained to RTVE. The protests also directed their demands at the Executive with slogans such as "Where is the progressive Government?" and "Rentiers, guilty; Government responsible."
The first decree, which included protection against evictions of vulnerable people and rental extensions, was defeated by 178 votes against and 172 in favor. It was rejected by the Popular Party (PP), the far-right Vox, Junts, and Unión del Pueblo Navarro (UPN). The second, on the automatic renewal of contracts, was rejected by 184 votes against 166, with the added 'no' support from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and Coalición Canaria.
The defeat has opened a period of reflection in the Government on the future of the legislature. Faced with the possibility that Pedro Sánchez might call early elections, Del Río placed the movement's response in the continuity of the protests. "We don't know what Mr. Pedro Sánchez has decided, we know what the street has decided," he declared, before recalling that they had already warned that, if the Executive did not pass a minimum decree, "the Government has no future."
More than 50 mobilizations during the weekend
The Confederation of Tenants' Unions and various social groups have called more than 50 mobilizations for this weekend. Some are brought forward to this very afternoon, at 7:00 p.m., in Bilbao, Donostia, Vitoria, Pamplona, Segovia, and Seville.
In Madrid, the demonstration on Saturday, October 3, will begin at 12:00 PM. Four columns will depart from Plaza de España, Atocha, Emilio Castelar roundabout, and the vicinity of La Princesa Hospital. A fifth will join them from Oso y el Madroño, in Sol. All will head towards Cibeles, in front of the City Hall headquarters.
On Saturday there will also be protests in València and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria at 11:00 AM, with local time in the Canary Islands case; in Palma, Cádiz, Girona and Santiago de Compostela at 12:00 PM; and in Zaragoza at 6:00 PM. In the afternoon, those in Málaga, Granada, Valladolid, Vigo and A Coruña are called for 7:00 PM, in addition to a march that will connect L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Barcelona.
The calendar will continue on Sunday, October 4, in cities such as Almería, Cuenca, Badajoz, Gijón, Oviedo, Salamanca, Logroño, Murcia and Córdoba. The groups demand lower rents, stop evictions and guarantee stable contracts. In Madrid, the organizers have specified their demands to reduce rents by 50%, expropriate vulture funds and establish indefinite contracts.
