After Maricarmen, the Spanish left is divided on the issue of rents, both on the streets and in government

In Spain, the Council of Ministers met on Tuesday to approve a new decree on rents designed to address the wave of outrage following the eviction of Maricarmen, an elderly, disabled tenant living in a flat in the centre of Madrid. Parliament has just 72 hours to pass it into law; the vote is on Friday. This speed was not accorded to the Ceuta emergency this summer.

The result of such haste was a frantic meeting, with negotiations continuing right up to the last minute and culminating in a decree which, in the end – to keep everyone happy – was split into two. There were even two press conferences. One was held by the Socialists, which was confused and full of stammering from the Minister for Housing Policy, Isabel Rodríguez, who was visibly unprepared for a text that was still being finalised. Another was held by the ministers of the Sumar coalition, who presented a far more concise and radical proposal: permanent contracts or those with automatic renewal, and an obligation for the landlord to compensate the tenant with the equivalent of at least 12 months’ rent in the event of unjustified termination. A proposal that was scrapped because it was already doomed to fail.

The first proposal stands a slightly better chance, but it must win over centrist and strongly regionalist parties such as the Basque PNV and the Catalan Junts, which are more attuned to the middle classes. The decree extends protection against evictions until 2030 and establishes a ban until 2028 on the purchase of property by ‘vulture’ funds, whatever that may mean. Minister Rodríguez acknowledged that Urbagestión, the company that owns Maricarmen’s home, is not a speculative fund but simply an ‘SME’ – that is, a small and medium-sized enterprise – stating (this time without stammering) that they are nonetheless vultures and scavengers.

Meanwhile, Urbagestión has reached an agreement with Maricarmen, and she, having just been discharged from hospital, will be able to return home. But it is now too late to defuse the social time bomb, a weapon that could make all the difference in the battle looming ahead of next year’s elections. The leaders at Puerta del Sol – the square where hundreds of activists have been camped out for days, visited by a constant stream of VIPs – have already made it clear that they have no intention of breaking camp, as the measures taken so far are insufficient. This situation suits the left as a whole, because the protesters did not gather outside Isabel Rodríguez’s ministry, but rather in front of the headquarters of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the People’s Party. But perhaps it suits the far-left best of all, as they are seeking to wear Sánchez down in order to stem the flow of tactical voting (however beset by scandals, in the upcoming general election the Socialist Party will still be the only bulwark against the advance of the right).

An extreme left that, for the most part, is increasingly showing itself to be both militant and government-oriented. Yolanda Díaz’s personality seems two-faced, much like Tuesday’s press conference; just a few days ago, at the Spanish Communist Party’s conference, she urged the people to mobilise against the government of which she is a minister and deputy prime minister. We shall see how she reacts to the rejection of the most radical measures proposed by her group. Many are betting on her remaining silent, because behind those fiery speeches lies an ally whom Sánchez has definitively brought to heel with her candidacy for the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (the vote is on 16 November).