Two detained, 19 police hurt at Vitoria eviction protest in Sansomendi

Eviction and overnight camp

The eviction of a family with six minor children took place on Friday, 23 October, at a flat on the Avenida de los Huetos in the Sansomendi district of Vitoria-Gasteiz. According to the Sindicato Socialista de Vivienda, which called the protest, hundreds of people gathered outside the building at 18:00 on Thursday, 22 October, and set up a camp that stayed in place through the night. The union says the family had lived in the flat for years and that the end of its rental contract threatened to leave everyone on the street. It describes the family as large and migrant, and says it had spent a year looking for a rental without success. An Ertzaintza deployment reached the site around 09:30, while the court party was due to carry out the eviction at 10:30. RTVE reports that officers needed about two hours to clear a path for the judicial party, and that the family left the flat around 13:00.

Clashes and the police account

The Basque Security Department says a group of protesters threw bottles, firecrackers and bags of urine at Ertzaintza and Local Police officers, who were covering the court order. The department says 19 police officers were injured in the disorder, and ten of them needed medical assistance. Two people were detained, a 26-year-old man and a 17-year-old, both accused of attacking agents and of public disorder. The department also identified 58 people. El Mundo reports that around 30 people entered the building doorway and barricaded themselves inside to block the eviction, a detail the department did not confirm in the sources reviewed. The Basque Government condemned what it called the actions of some people against the Ertzaintza and the Local Police.

Positions of the council and the union

Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council says it offered the family emergency and temporary accommodation in a social resource, and that the family turned the offer down.

The only possible alternative available, an emergency and temporary shelter in a social resource, which they rejected.

The council adds that its social services do not hold flats that can be allocated directly, and that it will keep working within its municipal powers to offer a social response suited to the family's needs.

Social services do not have homes to allocate directly.

The union holds the city council responsible for the eviction and says the municipality had not acted on the case in time. It also argues that the family's difficulty finding a home reflects discrimination in the rental market.

They have it very clear and they say so. They know they suffer that real estate racism.

Next steps and housing talks

The union called a press appearance at 17:00 in front of Vitoria city hall, followed by a march at 19:00 from the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca under the slogan "Against all evictions and police repression." RTVE reports that the union also claims dozens of people were injured, a figure that differs from the 19 police injuries given by the Security Department. Ertzaintza officers dismantled the camp outside the building. RTVE also reports that the PNV and the PSE have reached an agreement on housing tax measures, which are aimed at affordable rentals, bringing empty flats onto the market and taxing tourist use in high-pressure areas.