A massive demonstration took to the streets of Valencia this Saturday afternoon to defend the right to housing and demand the limitation of rental prices and the prohibition of tourist apartments in the city: “They are driving us out of the city.”
Under the motto ‘València s’ofega’ (“Valencia is drowning”), which commemorates the flood that flooded the city in 1957, the movement Valencia is not for sale —made up of nearly 200 groups and associations— has demanded access to decent housing, the defense of the territory and the regulation that “avoid touristification.”
The demonstration, which began in the Serrano Towers and ended in the Town Hall square, was marked by chants such as ‘Fire, fire, fire, to speculation’, ‘Being a landlord is not a profession’, ‘Tourist go home’ or ‘One more tourist, one less neighbor’, as well as others in which They have demanded the resignation of the Minister of HousingIsabel Rodríguez.
Likewise, the protesters They have jingled apartment keys in protest and have carried banners such as ‘PiS.OS ACAB (All homemade are bastard), ‘Vultures and seagulls, they thoroughly exploit us’, ‘The city for those who live in it’ or ‘Capitalism is the cancer that kills neighborhoods’.
Four columns of protesters left from various parts of the city and converged at 6:30 p.m. at the Seranos Towers, on whose battlements several protesters have hung a large banner with the motto “for the right to a home” and a Palestinian flag. Both have been removed by agents of the National Police.
Maria Alandes, one of the spokespersons for Valencia is not for sale and member of the LaMataObras collective, has stated that, currently, “the majority of housing” is rented in Valencia to people from northern Europe, while “30% of the housing that is purchased” is done by “foreign capital and speculators.” .
“They are destroying Valencia. They are selling the entire city to speculative funds and we want a city for their neighborhood,” he stated, while lamenting that this is something that happens in “the entire city.” “They are expelling us from the city. People have to go live in nearby towns, where housing prices are also rising,” he warned.
Therefore, among their demands they ask the “absolute prohibition” of tourist housing, including the ground floor, since it has warned of the construction of “horizontal hotels”, and has rejected increasing construction, since “there is a lot of housing that is empty”, so they advocate “taking advantage of it”.
In this sense, he estimated that in Valencia there are “around 57,000 empty homes.” “In the center alone, 40% of the housing is empty. And in some points, such as in the Cabanyal neighborhood, the same thing happens and around 40% is empty,” he stressed.
117% increase in rent since 2015
For her part, Alba Font, one of the spokespersons for Valencia is not for salehas mentioned other demands, such as declaring the city as a stressed area to “make effective” the regulation of rental prices, since he has emphasized that, from 2015 to the present, rental prices have increased. “117%” in the city; as well as the stoppage of evictions without housing alternatives, among others.
“Valencia is saturated, it is drowning and needs a drastic change and complete vision and model of the city,” he asserted, while defending that we must “stop betting on the tourism sector as the main economic model.”
Asked about a possible strike if the demands are not met, Font pointed out that there are “many different voices” within the groups that make up Valencia is not for saleso they will have to analyze it, but he has specified that, “if the claims and demands are not met, “We would have to see from the neighborhoods what solutions can be found.”
For his part, Pablo Ramos, also spokesperson for Valencia is not for salehas maintained that “the city is for those who live in it” and has lamented that currently people “cannot live in their own cities.” “We basically demand the defense of the territory, the right to housing and against this massive touristification that we are experiencing,” he expressed.
In this sense, he has described the situation of rental housing prices as a “limit” and has criticized that “spaces are rented at unpayable prices” and young people spend “80% of the salary to pay rent.” However, he specified that this situation affects people of all ages “equally.”
“Agony”
Among the protesters, parents with their children have attended because they see the housing situation as “agony”, since, despite having jobs, young people “they will never be able to become independent.” Along the same lines, Laura has lamented that “renting is terribly impossible and so is buying an apartment”, which is why she has urged that this situation “stop now”.
For his part, Marc has advocated for union and organization, in the face of the “excessive” housing problem and the increase in tourist apartments; while his companion on the march, Milo, has exemplified that Only two people live in his building.while the rest are properties for tourists. Regarding the future prospects, they have agreed that they are “bad”, although Marc has pointed out that he hopes that the Government “intervenes and regulates the housing system, or the only thing it is going to do is get worse.”
Compromís censures the “invasion” of tourist apartments
Political representatives have also attended the demonstration, such as the spokesperson for Compromís per València, Papi Robles, who has announced that her group will bring to the plenary session of the council, in the form of a motion, the proposals of the organization of the demonstration, because they consider that they are “very positive”, among which he cited the prohibition of the creation of more tourist apartments: “They are invading us.”
Robles has advocated limiting the rental price in Valencia, which is “completely out of control” and has asked “what is the president” of the Generalitat waiting for, Carlos Mazón. “Why don’t they want to do it? Probably because they have more interests with the speculators than with the people of the city,” he said.
Likewise, it has urged the central government to “appropriate” the Sareb homes because “citizens need them.” “We are taking a long time to make all these homes available to people who have the right to access housing,” he insisted.
The PSPV, against speculative purchases
For his part, the spokesperson for the PSPV-PSOE in València, Borja Sanjuán, has accused Mazón and the mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, of “deciding that the housing law does not apply to València and that is costing many young people and not so young people have to leave the neighborhoods where they have grown up”, while urging them to intervene “against speculative purchases”, which are 70% of those made in the city. For this reason, he has advanced that the PSPV will propose that Valencia be It is prohibited to buy a home “if it is not to reside.”
Asked if the central government can take measures, Sanjuán stated that “everyone can always do more things”, but he has insisted that Catalá and Mazón “do not want to exercise powers in housing.” “They are comfortable in an environment of rentier speculation, it is their environment,” he emphasized.
“Everyone has to do more and everyone has to be self-critical, but the first thing is for each one to put themselves on the right side of history; and the right side of history is to be with all these people, with the people who do not want to abandon your city because there is an investment fund that is pulling you out of your neighborhood“, he stated.
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