Berlin tenant activists plan two rallies in solidarity with Spanish housing protests

Berlin tenant activists plan to hold two rallies on 11 November, according to the newspaper taz. The Berlin alliance against displacement and rent madness is calling for a rally with tents in front of the Spanish embassy at 10 a.m. A second rally is planned for 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening at the Brandenburg Gate. The organisers say they want to show solidarity with the tenant movement in Spain, which has called a nationwide general strike on 11 November against evictions and high rents.

The Spanish protests began after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who had lived in her home for more than 50 years. Police removed her from the flat, and she died in a hospital a few days later. Until her death she had resisted the eviction together with the tenants' union. Since then, tens of thousands of people in Spain have taken to the streets, and tent camps have been set up on large squares.

Kim Meyer of the Berlin alliance says the protests are encouraging. He says an alliance of grassroots unions has put housing at the centre of public debate in Spain, and that years of building tenants' unions are paying off. Meyer also recalled that Spain has inspired Berlin tenants before, pointing to the movement of tenants and homeowners more than 15 years ago. He said the alliance remains outside parliament, and that the rallies will also call for quick and full implementation of the Deutsche Wohnen & Co. Enteignen referendum.