The Maricarmen case deepens the dispute between PSOE and Sumar over housing policy

The eviction of Maricarmen in Madrid opened a new front between PSOE and Sumar within the coalition government. The social uproar over the case was joined by a political debate over the official response on housing and over the timing for approving a new decree.

According to La Vanguardia, ABC España and El Mundo, Sumar is demanding that the next Council of Ministers approve the royal decree-law on housing that has been under negotiation for months. Among other measures, the measure provides for the extension and freezing of rents and seeks to prevent the eviction of vulnerable tenants.

According to La Vanguardia, in Moncloa they argued against taking the text to the Council of Ministers without first securing the support needed for its ratification in Congress, after a similar initiative had already failed. Both that outlet and ABC España said the difficulties lie in closing an agreement with forces such as Junts and Podemos.

Pedro Sánchez addressed the case from New York, where he was taking part in the United Nations General Assembly. According to La Vanguardia and ABC España, the president agreed on the need to push the decree through urgently, although without confirming that it will be approved next Tuesday. He also called for parliamentary backing so it does not fall in Congress again and pointed at Isabel Díaz Ayuso and José Luis Martínez Almeida over housing powers in Madrid.

From Sumar, pressure on the Socialist wing of the government intensified. La Vanguardia and El Mundo reported that Yolanda Díaz and Pablo Bustinduy called for both the expropriation of Maricarmen’s home and the housing decree to be approved on Tuesday. El Mundo added that Sira Rego joined the request and that the proposal was conveyed in writing to PSOE.

ABC España and El Mundo reported that Sumar maintains that, given the refusal of the property fund owner to negotiate, expropriation is the course of action the government should consider. In La Vanguardia, Compromís lawmaker Alberto Ibáñez even called for studying