Congress has rejected two housing decrees. Madrid renters will respond on Saturday with four marches converging at Cibeles. The protest begins at noon after parliamentary votes of 178-172 and 184-166 against the measures.
Congress rejected two housing decrees on Friday, by votes of 178-172 and 184-166. The defeat came one day before protests planned in more than 50 Spanish cities. In Madrid, four columns will leave different parts of the city and converge at Cibeles from 12:00.
The demonstration will end outside Madrid City Hall. Organisers see it as the next step towards a general housing strike and want future protests to move beyond Puerta del Sol. The vote has given that call a direct political focus. Reuters reported that Junts argued the measures could make the housing market more restrictive, helping prompt their rejection. PP, Vox and Junts opposed the first measure; the second also faced opposition from PNV and Coalición Canaria.
The four routes will bring demonstrators together from across the capital. The Sindicato de Inquilinas has linked Saturday's action to a national campaign, calling for the "spark of Sol" to reach workplaces, schools, health centres, homes, apartment blocks and neighbourhoods.
The northern column will gather at the glorieta de Emilio Castelar. The southern group will meet at Atocha, while the eastern column will assemble near Hospital de la Princesa. From the west, protesters will set off from Plaza de España and head towards Cibeles.
People staying at the Sol camp have a separate departure point: they will leave from the statue of the Oso y el Madroño, creating a fifth starting point for the day's mobilisation. The camp began on 26 September. Local reports said it had no announced end date by 2 October, while participants said the action was continuing.
The housing package included protection from eviction for vulnerable households until the end of 2030, along with restrictions on speculative housing purchases. The second measure concerned the automatic and indefinite extension of rental contracts. It was rejected by the wider margin of the two votes.
The Sindicato de Inquilinas spokesperson Valeria Racu has urged supporters to spread the mobilisation across the country rather than keep it in the capital. The organisation had already called for a Friday march from Sol to Congress, followed by actions across Spain on Saturday, information from EFE.
CCOO has announced its own meeting point at 11:30 outside its headquarters at Calle Lope de Vega, 38. The union says housing cannot become a business for only a few and has called on people to join the street protest.
Congress rejected the decrees one day before the marches, giving organisers a direct issue around which to mobilise. One measure would extend eviction protection for vulnerable households and limit speculative purchases; the other would cover automatic and indefinite rental-contract extensions. The route plan turns a broad housing complaint into a citywide action with fixed meeting points.
The vote followed a renewed wave of mobilisation linked to the eviction in Madrid of an 87-year-old woman who uses a wheelchair. Reuters and Xinhua described the case as a trigger for protests elsewhere in Spain and for the encampment at Puerta del Sol. Before the vote, demonstrators marched from central Madrid to Congress, then returned to Sol, where calls for a general strike were heard.
The columns will set off at noon, with all four routes leading to Cibeles. The Sol camp and the CCOO meeting will operate separately. Organisers want to keep housing at the centre of public pressure after Congress rejected both decrees. Saturday's marches are expected to test how well the campaign can connect neighbourhoods across the capital.
