Sol Square: Podemos Under 5% According to Forum, Shadow of New Party Looms

Sol Square Protest and Suspicion of a New Party for the Left

While a protest camp doesn't found parties, it sometimes heralds them. Early Sunday morning, the Madrid Tenants' Union called for mobilization at the housing protest camp in Sol Square, according to an account shared on a forum thread. The forum is discussing whether the event is spontaneous outrage or the dress rehearsal for an electoral movement. Factors fueling this suspicion include the eviction of Mari Carmen, a tenants' platform with its own narrative, and a user's claim that Podemos is below 5% in polls.

What Peine in Sol Square: From Eviction to Campout

The call to action, as the story goes, originated from a tenants' platform that encouraged people to stay overnight in the square on Sunday morning. "Thousands of us have decided to stay camping in Sol, this has to mark a before and after," summarized Valeria Racu, a member of the platform. Among those pitching tents are individuals who don't fit the cliché of professional activists: Irene, 28, and Pablo, 37, who have come "tonight and for as many nights as needed."

Pablo shares an apartment and has moved to a peripheral neighborhood, 40 minutes from work by metro or bus if he's lucky. Mari Carmen's eviction, according to his account, was the last straw.

Why is a Party Suspected Behind the Protest Camp?

For those drawing parallels, the timing aligns. In 2011, the 15M movement emerged in May, and general elections were held in November; there wasn't enough time to organize anything, yet Podemos eventually emerged from that ferment. Now, according to similar comments, the script is repeating with an uncomfortable difference: the party born then is struggling, and the one in power is bleeding support in the polls. The hypothesis circulating in the thread is that of a new formation, which some are already naming Frente Amplio (Broad Front).

The thread mentions Ada Colau and Gabriel Rufián, but there's no indication they are linked to the protest camp. Rufián, according to one comment, has mused on television about leaving politics daily but hasn't done so. The question raised by the thread isn't whether there are party affiliations, but whether there are votes.

The Rental Business: From Vonovia to the Small Landlord

Here, the debate shifts from electoral concerns to profit margins, according to some participants. One user asserts that Vonovia, the largest German real estate company, has lost 70% of its stock value in five years. The same participant claims that in the United States, rental vehicles are heavily indebted and expand by borrowing. They add that straining rent collection borders on the solvency of the banks financing this business.

And then there's the everyday landlord. The circulating suspicion is that regulations will eventually push individual owners out of the market, leaving the housing stock in the hands of large holders who will only be responsible for a fraction—8.5%—of what they pay. Another user maintains that as long as the promised 200,000 homes are not built—and this number would need to be quadrupled—the problem will not be solved.

---

As of now, the consulted thread contains no confirmation of an electoral movement or any party affiliation with the protest camp.