The spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, Valeria Racu, assured this Saturday that the general housing strike will arrive "soon," after the Congress of Deputies struck down the housing decrees, and confirmed that she is holding conversations with the majority labor unions to promote a call that, she noted, has their support.
In statements to the media, Valeria Racu explained that the initiative still has no date, although she recalled that "it begins to be built today" and that, despite this, no specific date has yet been detailed because an agreement is still being reached with the other organizations to organize it in such a way that it is "historic" and with participation "like has not been seen in years." "The general strike still has no date (...) it has to be a consensus among all labor unions and we are working on it, but I can say that it will surely be soon," she remarked.
The spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union defined the general strike as a "historic tool" to transform reality and recalled that, in her opinion, thanks to this type of mobilization, rights such as eight-hour workdays or universal suffrage exist.
Criticism of Congress and "rentism"
During her speech, Valeria Racu accused the Congress of Deputies of being "kidnapped by rentism" and maintained that there is a social consensus around the idea that rentism "is a scourge" that must end. In that vein, she stated that the demonstrations held these days show that "power returns to the streets" and warned that "this is a warning to sailors."
"Whoever governs, we are not going to tolerate another four years without tackling the biggest problem in this country," emphasized the spokesperson, who also defended that the general strike will allow "to expel rentism, speculation, real estate investment, and vulture funds from this country."
Furthermore, Valeria Racu pointed to the "true invaders" as "the investors," and stressed that "they are not migrants, nor trans people," while stating that young people and pensioners "are those who live at our expense, they are those who use our lives to do business."
Continuity of the encampments in Sol
The spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union also defended the continuity of the encampments, and explained that the one installed in Madrid's Plaza de Sol goes "much further" than the eviction of Maricarmen and the union itself, because it has spread to "many other squares" in the country. "That will continue," she affirmed.
At this point, Valeria Racu specified that it will be the general assembly of the encampment that decides "day by day" whether the mobilization is maintained or not, and issued a warning to the Madrid City Council by stating that, if it thinks that "police violence" will end the protest, "it doesn't understand what is happening."
