The federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida (IU), Antonio Maíllo, has hardened his criticism this Wednesday of those who question the two housing decrees approved by the Government. Asked in the Andalusian Parliament about the position of Podemos and Adelante Andalucía, he responded with a phrase directed at those who accuse the Executive of betraying the people who mobilize for the right to housing. “I’m starting to get fed up with the leftism that has never suffered an eviction situation,” he stated.
Maíllo has defended that the measures deserve the support of Congress this Friday, although he himself would have preferred them to be gathered in a single decree, as requested by the Tenants' Union. He is convinced that Podemos will vote in favor of both texts. “I would not understand a vote against or an abstention that would prevent their ratification,” he warned.
The IU leader has also pointed out the electoral cost that, in his opinion, would be assumed by the groups that stopped the measures after the protests initiated in Puerta del Sol and extended to other cities. He attributed to that mobilization the fact that the PSOE accepted proposals that weeks ago were outside the negotiation. On his social networks, he has asked to maintain pressure until the vote and to continue afterwards.
La movilización social es la que ha hecho posible aprobar en el gobierno medidas que hace un mes parecían imposibles.
— Antonio Maíllo (@MailloAntonio) September 30, 2026
Ahora toca mantener la movilización para que se apruebe en el Congreso. Y después, a seguir luchando. Esto solo acaba de empezar. pic.twitter.com/8SO8bETu74
Two decrees and an open vote
The first decree was published this Wednesday in the Official State Gazette. Among other measures, it contemplates the suspension until 2030 of certain evictions of vulnerable people without housing alternatives, an extraordinary two-year extension for rental contracts that meet the requirements, and new rules for seasonal and room rentals. The Government has left the automatic renewal of rental contracts, one of the central demands of the Tenants' Union, in a second text.
The separation of the measures is Podemos' main reproach. Its general secretary, Ione Belarra, argues that approving two decrees allows one part to go forward and exposes the automatic renewal to rejection by Congress. The party has not yet announced how its four deputies will vote. Before deciding, it will meet this Thursday with the Tenants' Union.
In Sumar there is also discomfort over the division of the package. The Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, has attributed to the PSOE the decision to take the automatic renewal to another decree, although the ministers of his space support the approval of both. From IU, deputy Enrique Santiago has demanded that this second text be published immediately and has asked Podemos to vote thinking about the people who would be affected by the measures.
Maíllo has insisted that the division of the decrees admits criticism, but does not justify letting the protections they contain fall. From Andalusia, he has also demanded that the president of the Junta, Juanma Moreno, clarify what position the PP deputies elected by that community will defend in Friday's vote.
After the press conference, Maíllo linked the housing protests with his proposal to bring together left-wing forces in a candidacy for the next general elections. "Mobilization can make the left-wing candidacy crystallize," he told reporters in the Andalusian Parliament.
