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Date Published: 11/11/2024

Thousands protest in Andalucían capitals against price of housing and overtourism

The streets of Sevilla, Malaga and Cadiz were filled with angry demonstrators over the weekend

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Sevilla, Cadiz and Malaga on Saturday November 9 in a huge, coordinated protest against the skyrocketing price of housing in Andalucía and the lack of government controls over the surge in tourist rentals.

The demonstrations, organised by various groups including Málaga Para Vivir (MPV), Sevilla Para Vivir (SPV) and Cadiz Resiste, brought together a diverse crowd of residents, union members and social activists, all united in their demands for affordable housing and an end to the “tourist exploitation” that is pricing them out of their own cities.

The protests were peaceful, with no incidents reported, but the message was clear: the current state of housing in Andalucía is unsustainable and must be addressed.

In Malaga, the MPV platform criticised the city's model as one that “expels residents, turns housing into a business and erodes the social fabric”. The demonstration, which drew an estimated 30,000 people, according to organisers, began at the Plaza de la Merced and wound its way through the city centre, with protesters carrying banners and chanting slogans that echoed the group's concerns.

“The city is not a business, it's a place to live,” many of the placards read.

Meanwhile, in the Andalucían capital, the SPV gathered an estimated 35,000 people who marched through the streets of Sevilla, calling for measures to guarantee the right to housing.

Here, the main gripe is that the local government “continues with its objective of squeezing the city for tourism, causing more residents to be expelled from their neighbourhoods”.

Over in Cadiz, the protests were 4,000-strong and set out from Plaza de San Antonio on Saturday morning. “Either we change the system or we will be left without housing” and “Social housing, without leaving anyone behind” were the chants heard along the streets.

The Cadiz Resiste organisation expressed its opposition to “housing speculation” which it believes “leaves neighbourhoods full of tourists” and drives out small businesses.

The protests were not limited to the three main cities, either. In Tarifa, the citizen platform 'Tarifa is not for sale' took to the streets, highlighting the difficulties of accessing decent housing. In La Línea de la Concepción, the Flavi platform criticised the “border effect” that increases rents and the abandonment of the public housing stock by the government.

In other news: Strong earthquake measuring 3.4 registered in Malaga

Images: Málaga Para Vivir

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