A 48-hour deadline set by the regional government expired, but the Puerta del Sol camp remains. The Comunidad de Madrid has taken the housing protest to court.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso announced a contencioso-administrativo appeal, requesting medidas cautelarísimas. Madrid says the Delegación del Gobierno failed to act, and wants the court to order the camp’s immediate dissolution.
The dispute is now legal.
The central question is who can order the protest to end. The Comunidad argues that the demonstration was not notified in advance. It says the camp has become a permanent, indefinite presence and threatens public order. It also calls the camp an unlawful occupation of public space.
The camp followed a housing demonstration on 26 September that drew about 25,000 people, information from the Delegación del Gobierno. The protest was linked to the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen and calls for measures demonstrators refer to as the “decreto Maricarmen”.
The protest has entered its fifth day.
The camp is organised around the right to housing. Protesters are expected to remain at least until Friday, though no clear end date has been set.
Estimates of the camp’s size on its first night ranged from roughly 200 to 500 people. Reports put the number of tents at around 100 to 150. Information from El País, Telemadrid and Euronews, the figures differ as the number of people remaining in Puerta del Sol changed after the march.
Madrid says the tents obstruct access to the Real Casa de Correos, the headquarters of the Madrid government. The regional government also says the camp affects commercial activity in central Madrid and harms the city’s image as a quality destination.
The Delegación del Gobierno has stressed the right of assembly. It says the National Police has no grounds to intervene while there are no disturbances. The camp remains.
The administration had already sent a formal demand for action to Francisco Martín, the delegado del Gobierno. Miguel Ángel García Martín, the regional councillor for the Presidency and government spokesman, warned that Madrid would seek judicial measures if the demand was ignored.
Ayuso has now confirmed that step. She says Martín refuses to order the evacuation.
A second dispute concerns alleged disorder at the site. José Luis Martínez-Almeida said the camp could not be described as peaceful because images showed paving stones and large knives.
The mayor said he would send the document containing those images to Francisco Martín and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. RTVE has seen the document. Reports do not say the objects shown were used in disturbances at the camp.
The images, along with Almeida’s interpretation, have become part of the political fight.
The camp is part of a wider housing dispute. An earlier Sol report covered that background in an earlier Sol report. The immediate question is narrower: will the courts accept the Comunidad’s request for urgent protection before negotiations or a voluntary departure changes the situation?
Madrid has not announced a completed eviction. It has asked the judiciary to authorise the camp’s immediate dissolution. The Delegación del Gobierno has not ordered it.
Two authorities are at odds. The regional government is demanding removal, while the central government’s representative has not ordered it.
The court will have to examine the claims about the camp’s permanence and public order. It will also consider access to a government building and disruption to commercial activity. The housing cause remains the stated reason for the protest.
Until a judge rules, the basic fact remains unchanged: the camp is still in Puerta del Sol. Madrid is seeking its removal, but it has not been carried out.
