Sanchez opens election campaign amid housing crisis protests

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez launched his campaign on Saturday for a snap general election to be held on 29 November. The vote had originally been scheduled for 2027, but protests over the country's housing crisis forced it forward.

How the crisis unfolded

Two weeks ago, 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from her home in Madrid. She became the face of Spain's chronic housing crisis, and her eviction set off protests across the country. The pressure fell on Sanchez's left-wing coalition, which had to put forward urgent decrees. The minority government failed to pass its measures in parliament, so Sanchez called the election. Abascal died in hospital on Wednesday.

Sanchez has been in power since 2018. In recent years he has gained international prominence through clashes with US President Donald Trump and Israel. At home he is a divisive figure and trails in most polls behind the main conservative opposition force, the Popular Party (PP).

At his rally, Sanchez promised to strengthen legislation protecting tenants against "real estate speculation" if his party wins an absolute majority. He opened the campaign in Dos Hermanas, a commuter town near Seville and a historic Socialist stronghold, where he also began his 2023 campaign.

Opposition and street protests

PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo rallied supporters in Madrid, calling for "a total change". He has criticised the government's handling of a migration crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, where more than 70,000 migrants arrived from Morocco in late July. Polls suggest the PP is unlikely to win a majority, which could make the far-right Vox party, the third-largest force in parliament, a kingmaker in coalition talks.

Hundreds of protesters are camped in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square and in other cities, demanding stronger tenant protection and affordable prices. The main unions have called a general strike for 11 November, the first in Spain since 2012.