4 October 2026
Spanish freelance journalist Jaime Velazquez says Spain's housing protests, which drew around 500,000 people onto the streets of Madrid and other cities after parliament rejected the government's emergency housing decrees on Friday, are the largest mobilisation since the 2011 Indignados movement, which broke the country's two-party political dominance. Velazquez says protesters show no sign of backing down, putting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a difficult position: he could present a more ambitious housing decree as early as Tuesday to try to rebuild a parliamentary majority, or call a snap election. Some Socialist Party and cabinet members reportedly favour an early vote now, framed around housing, rather than waiting months for an election that could instead be dominated by corruption allegations surrounding the party or the recent arrival of 80,000 migrants in Ceuta. Velazquez notes Sanchez is a political survivor whose next move remains unpredictable.
In Spanish this is what ignited the situation
