Eight families evicted from Badalona building set for demolition
Conservative mayor accused of using eviction for electoral purposes
Conservative mayor accused of using eviction for electoral purposes
Activists say family has no housing alternative to property owned by investment firm Cerberus
Eviction was scheduled for November 16 after property owner went bankrupt
Spanish judges set doctrine after EU court labelled previous ruling on mortgages “abusive”
Suicide during eviction sparks outrage as social crisis lingers
Barcelona’s Gracia neighbourhood saw violent protests this past Monday, after a demonstration against the eviction of the so-called ‘Expropriated Bank’. According to the police, after a peaceful rally, several people started making barricades, damaging urban furniture and several vehicles parked in the street and burning containers. As firefighters couldn’t control the different fires which occurred, the police decided to start a baton charge. According to some of the demonstrators, the agents were using foam projectiles and pictures of wounded people appeared on social media. The riots resulted in several wounded amongst the troublemakers and the police, and one person was arrested. The ‘Expropriated Bank’in Gracia was initially an office of the Caixa Tarragona bank. The building was occupied in 2011 and has since been integrated into the neighbourhood as a community centre.
Less than 24 hours after meeting with her Catalan counterpart, current Spanish Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría announced that some articles of the Catalan law against energy poverty will be taken before the Constitutional Court (TC). Thus, Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras’ demands for the Spanish executive to “reconsider” this procedure haven’t been listened to. However, Santamaría nuanced that those precepts which are in relation to guaranteeing the energy supply to those who may be at social risk are not affected by the suspension. On the other hand, some measures oriented toward avoiding evictions have been suspended. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, responded by saying that this measure leaves “in the open” the most vulnerable families.