Madrid Counter-Demonstration Draws ~50, According to Social Media

National Core gathers 50 to protest Sol encampment

On Saturday, October 3, a counter-demonstration was called in Madrid against the housing encampment at Puerta del Sol. It was organized by National Core and, subsequently, National Democracy. The meeting point was the Metro Banco de España exit at 19:30, with the rally starting at 20:00 on Calle Alcalá 21 under the slogan, "dignified housing for Spaniards." Hours later, social media counts reported about 50 attendees. Fewer than a hundred, in any case. The event ended without the clash some had predicted.

How many people attended the National Core counter-demonstration?

The figures circulated ranged from 50 participants to over a hundred. According to these same counts, opposing rallies drew several hundred people, multiplying the far-right group's presence by six. The repeated conclusion was uncomfortable for organizers: with these numbers, the event did not evict anyone or intimidate them. Low turnout, not just on migration.

The comparison fueled the debate. Supporters claimed the low number was due to circumstances: football and bad weather on the same afternoon. Critics argued that a movement claiming to be street-based cannot choose a late-afternoon slot from a sofa. Meanwhile, a recurring question remained: if the issue is housing, why does the protester move not a single brick?

Metro closed Sevilla, Banco de España, and Sol stations by police order

Madrid Metro announced the closure of Sevilla, Banco de España, and Sol stations by police order. Trains continued to run but without stopping. For some, this was a reasonable precaution; for others, unequal treatment: the encampment had been in the square for days, while newcomers were cut off from below.

This closure fueled the sabotage theory. Some joked that metro riders couldn't get off at their stop. The comparison between patience for those already there and firmness for newcomers dominated much of the exchange, though no official attendance data settled the debate.

Housing, football, and rain: the afternoon's counter-programming

The call went out with little notice, coinciding with the Spanish national team's win against the Czechs and bad weather warnings in Madrid. This cocktail of TV and DANA was cited as the reason for low turnout. In Barcelona, a user described intense rain. Some speculated that weather would do what the call couldn't: evict the encampment via wet ground, including the flu.

However, the core grievance was different. The protest was pitched against housing prices, with the repeated complaint that no one had moved a bag of cement or a pallet of bricks. Diagnosis without budget. Complaint without a developer.

Soros, subsidies, and the sponsor of the platforms

The underlying debate focused on who pays. Links were cited between foundations connected to Open Society and certain housing platforms, with staff moving from tenant unions to public spokesperson roles. The accusation of external direction is old and reappears each season, but two things must be separated: documented philanthropic funding and whether it turns a group into a puppet manipulated from abroad.

The counter-argument was more prosaic: the sin is not the foreign sponsor, but the non-repayable subsidy model that turns any cause into a front that learns to ask Brussels, La Moncloa, or whoever. With this framework, the trench blurs: on both sides, they breathe the same air of the public purse.

The end: an incident-free afternoon with pending accounts

The standoff ended in a draw. No one evicted Sol, no charges were recorded, and the encampment remained where it was. The only verifiable facts are the asymmetric numbers and the closure of three stations by police order. With these threads, Spain's street far-right remains a short-appearing actor: lots of posters, few people, and an unresolved problem—housing—that still has no owner.