The Ministry of Culture has allocated 800 square meters of the Tabacalera complex to a neighborhood group that includes the Sindicato de Inquilinas, whose activists are behind the ongoing Puerta del Sol protest camp.
Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun did not follow a formal request from Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida and the city council to turn the Tabacalera into affordable housing and public services. Instead, the ministry granted two annex buildings, Nave Trapecio and Nave Trastocados/Metrópolis, to the Remontada Tabacalera coalition. Its members include the Centro Social Autogestionado La Tabacalera, 8M Lavapiés, Red Interlavapiés, Oficina de Urbanismo Social, and the Sindicato de Inquilinas. Independent outlets Vozpópuli and OKDIARIO report that the 800 square meters are divided between two spaces: 512 m² and 288 m². The ministry will cover all renovation costs.
A separate contract for Tabacalera’s project documentation was signed on September 17 for €682,500, funded by European sources. Renovation work is set to finish by year’s end. Once the space is ready, the collective will run it independently. It is intended for cultural and community use, not housing. The city’s proposal called for affordable apartments, sports facilities, a nursery, a library, or social centers. That plan passed the Centro district council with Partido Popular support and Vox abstentions, but Más Madrid and the Socialist group blocked it. OKDIARIO notes that CSA La Tabacalera is the official recipient, with the Sindicato de Inquilinas part of the Remontada Tabacalera alliance rather than the sole beneficiary. The outlet also reports that the allocation is part of a broader architectural renovation, as the building is being repurposed as a center for artistic production and residencies. The space assigned to Remontada Tabacalera is part of that larger redevelopment, not an unused property.
The Sindicato de Inquilinas has kept the Sol protest camp going, even after the regional government called it “illegal.” The group refuses public subsidies to maintain its independence. It relies on member dues, donations, and event partnerships. It had 1,858 affiliates as of late 2025. Ten percent of its income goes to a “resistance fund” for fines and legal costs; the rest pays for lawsuits and advocacy. Vozpópuli notes the group’s public stance: no government money, full independence.
The Tabacalera, at Embajadores 53, is a Madrid landmark. Built between 1780 and 1792, it was a tobacco factory until 2000. The Ministry of Culture has owned it since 2003. In 2010, a shared-use model began between CSA La Tabacalera and Tabacalera Promoción del Arte. Structural problems and pandemic closures led the ministry to reconsider the building’s future, paving the way for this latest handover.
City officials are frustrated. The ministry’s move blocks a plan for affordable housing and instead backs activist groups already leading Madrid’s housing protests. The Sol camp remains, with more than 1,000 protesters still there, as reported earlier.
The dispute reflects a deep divide between Madrid’s national and city governments. The city wanted to address the housing shortage; the ministry chose to back grassroots groups with a record of direct action. Activist networks are gaining ground in Madrid’s public spaces, while institutional housing solutions remain stalled amid political gridlock and competing visions.
