"I approached him to tell him that Aliança will eat them"

MadridMiriam Nogueras picks up her green folder. It is a quarter past one, she has finished the speech where she confirms the no of her party and steps down from the podium. As she returns to her seat, Aina Vidal, a deputy for the commons, says something to her, visibly indignant. She is wearing a yellow t-shirt that reads: "Catalunya is not CiU". Four hours later, the failure of the first housing decree is confirmed. Minister Bustinduy turns towards the Popular Party benches. He encourages them to clap with their hands; he is telling them, with the gesture, to celebrate, that what has happened is their merit. And they respond and applaud loudly. Nogueras looks at her phone. A group throws papers from the guests' gallery shouting "Vulture funds govern the Congress". They resonate inside the building, and also outside, where housing movements have been protesting since early morning. Lara is there, megaphone in hand, repeating slogans like "It is the struggle, the only way". I approach her when she hands the device to a colleague, and she explains to me that she joined the union a year ago, that she has been sleeping in the square for days and that her salary is barely enough, barely enough, to pay for an apartment of just over 40 square meters with her partner. "Do you believe that by mobilizing you will really make the parties change their position?", I ask her. "It is the only way, for sure", she replies. I go back into the chamber and in the second conversation I catch in the hallway, one hears: "Do you see it or not?" It is obvious what they are talking about. It is the question that has been asked since early morning, what the journalists, advisors, and politicians circulating through the chamber are commenting on. Outside, the word is struggle; inside, on the other hand, elections.

"Could you please bring order to your country?", says a journalist to a writer for this newspaper as she enters the press box that ARA has in Congress. "Will they really maintain themselves in the no?”, ask many press colleagues. The decision of Puigdemont's party has caught them off guard. It is a little past eleven when the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, takes the floor. It is not exactly clear how many people are listening to her among those looking at their mobile phones, computers, or talking to the person next to them. Nogueras is one of those rereading the speech and checking her phone. From the gallery, you can clearly see the flood of messages she is receiving. One after another. "What are the vulture funds offering you to be with them and not with the people?", the minister asks her. She does not look up, she makes notes on paper. When it is her turn, she accuses the government of thinking about headlines, and its partners, about elections. I count few deputies with headsets; they must understand Catalan very well. Outside, the protesters shout: "This is for Maricarmen!" A few minutes earlier, Junts had published a campaign on X where they talk about Francisca, Rosa Maria, and Assumpció, and where they say that their vote is explained by them, people whose tenant has stopped paying rent. The debate continues and Rufián (ERC) takes out the ticket and the keys and says that this is about money or rights, the PP insists on elections and Patxi López (PSOE) talks about rights or the right-wing, in a phrase that sounds like an electoral slogan. And, finally, Sánchez appears, having been absent for practically the entire debate, to take the floor and tell the groups to forget about political calculations. The laughter is loud in the popular benches, which are enjoying it, aware that these could be the hours leading up to an election call.

"172 votes in favor and 178 against, the session is adjourned," says Francina Armengol. Outside, the chanting continues. "A rent strike is needed now, a general strike is needed now," they repeat, visibly indignant. And there is shouting, literally, inside as well. "Go out to the street and laugh like you're laughing, you shameless person!" a Sumar deputy shouts at another from Vox. Nogueras watches from a distance, heading out to the corridors while talking on her mobile phone. It is the best way to avoid questions when you don't feel like answering. In the courtyard of Congress is Aina Vidal. "You said something to him, didn't you?" I ask her. "Yes, I approached him to tell him that Aliança will eat them up." The police cordon prevents politicians from crossing paths directly with the protesters who remain at Congress. One of them is a few meters away, observing them with a serene but serious expression. His name is Luis, he is about to turn 80, he is a property owner, and he has been in front of the building for hours. "Did you come to support the protesters?" I ask him. "Actually," he says, "I came with the hope of being able to speak with someone from Junts. I want to ask them why they did it."