Ayuso asks the justice system for the police to evict the Puerta del Sol encampment now

MadridThe courts enter the equation in the mobilizations for the right to housing. The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has announced during the Assembly's control session that she has taken the encampment at Puerta del Sol to the courts to evict it immediately. Thus, she presented a motion this very morning, with very urgent precautionary measures, so that the Spanish government evicts the protest now, after the Madrid delegation denied her requests. The Ayuso government denounces the "inaction" of Pedro Sánchez's executive in the face of an encampment that "should never have been allowed." In the opinion of the President of the Community of Madrid, the protest is "exceeding the constitutional and legal limits that define the fundamental right to assembly."

In her speech at the Madrid Assembly, Ayuso resorted to her most brazen style. "If you don't mind, your 'saltimbanqui' lordships with Macintoshes, please, clear at least enough space for ambulances. I won't even mention baby strollers and the ordinary life of the merchants, whom you are ruining."

From the Moncloa, they have so far claimed that evicting or not the encampment falls under municipal jurisdiction. An interpretation that is in no way shared by either Ayuso or the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who has also requested that the police be sent in. The Community specifies that the obligations for prevention and surveillance to ensure the protection of people, property, and institutions correspond to the Spanish government's delegation in Madrid "without margin for appreciation or discretion." Furthermore, they claim that there are acts of vandalism occurring against the historical and artistic heritage of Puerta del Sol. Facts that those from the encampment completely deny.

This Thursday, after five nights of protest, the demonstrators continue to sleep in this central square of Madrid. The protest, moreover, is organized and the logistics function like a mini-city at Puerta del Sol, as the tents have been distributed in such a way that there is space to circulate in between and a supply point in the middle. In addition, activities continue to be held and throughout the day other people come to express their support for the protest, as well as curious onlookers who want to see what is happening.

Encampment also at Plaça Catalunya

The encampment in Plaça de Catalunya also remains today and the Generalitat government also rules out an eviction. "What we must do is be respectful of this mobilization," said the Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon, on RAC1. In her view, "it would not be understood socially" if the Mossos d'Esquadra or the Guàrdia Urbana were to act now.