Spanish mayor uses public funds to relocate vulnerable family to Catalonia

The town council of Baños de Montemayor, in Cáceres, paid out of a municipal contingency fund for the transfer to Cancelar of a group of people squatting a tourist apartment, as well as five days of accommodation. The mayor, Nieves del Vado, did not notify the city council of Cancelar, whose mayor, David Bote, learned of it from the press.

The story begins in a tourist apartment in Baños de Montemayor, a municipality in Cáceres with around **700 inhabitants**. A family had booked seven days for **595 euros**. When the booking ended, the tenants did not leave. The squatting lasted more than ten days, and the daughter of the owners of the La Plazuela apartments asked the town council for help in finding a negotiated solution.

The solution was closed on a Tuesday evening, after a day of talks involving Guardia Civil officers and a company specializing in evictions, according to the owners' family. The group left. And here is the detail that has ignited the affair: the town council paid for the transfer and five days of accommodation with public money.

## A contingency fund and a destination 800 kilometers away

The mayor, **Nieves del Vado**, of the PP (Spain's conservative People's Party), acknowledged that the council covered the cost with a municipal contingency fund. The squatters were first offered a taxi to another town. They preferred to go to Barcelona, where they said they had relatives. The agreed destination was **Cancelar**, in the Maresme region. The two towns are **800 kilometers** apart.

Del Vado also detailed that the squatters asked for nearly **1,000 euros** to be transferred to them for living expenses. She refused. According to her account, after leaving the apartment they contacted her again and threatened to return if they did not receive the money. The mayor announced that she wanted to inform the police forces in the destination area and recommended that the squatters turn to local social services if they needed help.

## Cancelar found out from the press

The mayor of Cancelar, the socialist **David Bote**, received no prior communication. His government learned of the events through reports published by Extremaduran media. "I am very annoyed. This is not how things should be done," Bote told the weekly Capgròs after speaking by phone with Del Vado. His complaint is not the transfer itself, but the decision to send these people to his city and pay for their stay without notifying anyone.

The episode leaves a deeper question that goes beyond this case: what can a small town council do when a squatting case becomes entrenched and the judicial route is slow? Paying for a one-way ticket is a quick solution for the town of origin. For the destination, it is a problem that arrives with no instruction manual.

## Pot-banging protests and a missing television

In Baños de Montemayor the squatting had caused unease. Several residents gathered near the apartments and organized pot-banging protests in support of the owners. The family antiestéticared finding the property wrecked. Upon regaining access, they found it in better condition than expected, although there was disorder, cleanliness problems and damage to the furniture. A television of more than **40 inches** was also missing, and its disappearance remains unexplained.

**Carlos Concejal**, husband of the establishment's manager, claimed that the squatters had allegedly been involved in more than twenty similar cases in different parts of Spain, according to the owner. This is a one-sided claim, not a confirmed fact. The Guardia Civil will document the state of the property to facilitate the assessment of possible damage.