Colau Demands Abolition of Housing Ministry and Expulsion of Vulture Funds

Ada Colau: “I would abolish the Ministry of Housing because it’s fake”

Is there any point to a Ministry of Housing that lacks real competence over rental prices? Ada Colau answered this unequivocally during an appearance on Marc Giró’s show, 'Cara al Show': she would abolish it. “Currently, I would eliminate the Ministry of Housing because it is ‘fake,’ it has no real competences,” said the former Mayor of Barcelona. And she left another message for Pedro Sánchez, equally short: “Expel the vulture funds from Spain.”

What would Ada Colau ask of Pedro Sánchez?

“Expel the vulture funds from Spain.” That was her answer. Giró’s format is always the same: difficult question in exchange for a direct response, and the former mayor did not evade any point. Before making the leap into institutional politics, she was one of the public faces of the Mortgage Affected Platform (Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca).

How much has housing prices risen since Colau entered politics?

A rise of 98.5% in Spain and 103.0% in Catalonia, according to the calculation circulating among participants regarding the period when housing has been her banner. These are figures for a headline, and they must be taken with the caution due to any long series: the exact temporal framework or inflation adjustment is not detailed.

Added to this is the criticism of management from some participants: eight years leading the Barcelona City Council and the critique that access to housing in the city has not improved. Furthermore, the complaint is not only about management; part of the debate drifts toward an uncomfortable comparison—whether the working class lived better two decades ago—which no one supports with figures.