Spain's election campaign kicks off with housing protest at Sol

Election campaign opens with Sol encampment and cross accusations

The upcoming Spanish election campaign has not started with rallies, but with an encampment at Puerta del Sol, a tenants' union denying its eviction and a trail of cross accusations over who is dirtying the debate. The trigger, according to a forum post, is the conviction that Pedro Sánchez's PSOE has activated the machinery of social agitation to mobilise its electorate while the right tries to capitalise on the wear and tear. The question is no longer whether there will be a dirty campaign, but who executes it best.

The tenants' union and the encampment that refuses to leave

The Sindicato de Inquilinas (Tenants' Union) denied that the Sol encampment was going to be dismantled, according to the information shared so far. The encampment is presented as a protest against housing prices, but some argue its real aim is to wear down the Community of Madrid and the City Council, both governed by the PP. The CGT, for its part, launched a general housing strike after its congress, which some interpret as an attempt to capitalise on social unrest in the middle of the pre-campaign.

The organisers' argument is that the central government has not built a single home, while the Community of Madrid boasts of having delivered 6,419 affordable rental homes under the Plan Vive, with Boadilla del Monte leading the way (524 flats) and 543 social housing units already completed in the capital, Móstoles and Majadahonda. The official forecast is to expand the offer to 14,000 flats in more than 20 municipalities. The battle for the narrative is served: some accuse Ayuso and Almeida of doing nothing; others respond with delivery figures.

The dirty campaign playbook: bullets, knives and political commissars

The anticipated repertoire ranges from letters with bullets bearing the stamp of Vox to bloodied knives sent to politicians, including attacks with a slingshot and the return of the eyebrow 2.0. Mari Carmen campaigning from hospital is also mentioned, which some read as an attempt at victimhood. And the political commissars of Telepedro —Broncano, Cintora, Javierito, the unfunny comedian of the Andalusian dog, Miro, Ebola— are singled out for using their shows to campaign.

The recurring diagnosis is that the common-sense campaign does not exist. Some argue that, whoever governs, the situation of the ordinary citizen will not improve because Spain is an unproductive nation in a hyper-productive world, without energy, without technology and without skilled labour. The country, the argument goes, is governed by the biggest psychopaths in its history with the blessing of a servile society that sells itself for a bowl of rice.

30N and the clan war as a backdrop

The reference to 30N and the possibility that something will be staged on that date hangs over the conversation. There is also speculation that there will be no need to expose their own militants: two or three false flags at some nursery will be enough for the clans to go to war with each other and for shots to be fired in the streets. The idea that mercenaries are available for certain tasks is taken for granted.

The accusation that the government acts as a Crime Syndicate and that the PSOE operates in con-artist and agit-prop mode from minute one is one of the most repeated currents. Against it, the response that the fascists rely on Satan and that the dirty campaign is a tantrum from those who refuse to accept the election result closes the circle of mutual smears.

Housing as an electoral weapon

The use of housing as electoral ammunition is not new, but the context makes it more explosive. The Community of Madrid has delivered 6,419 affordable rental homes under the Plan Vive, with Boadilla del Monte as the municipality with the largest development delivered (524 flats). In addition, the regional government has completed 543 social housing units for vulnerable families in the capital, Móstoles and Majadahonda, with plans to expand the total offer to 14,000 flats in more than 20 municipalities.

The deliveries are concentrated mainly in southern municipalities and strategic areas, fuelling the dispute over whether housing policy is sufficient or pure electoral marketing. The Sol encampment, with its refusal to dismantle the camp, thus becomes the first battleground of a campaign that promises to be anything but clean.

Will there be a dirty campaign? There will, and it has probably already started. The question is whether anyone will dare to admit it before the ballot box.