Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has called an early general election for November 29 after parliament rejected his government’s emergency measures aimed at tackling the country’s housing crisis. The move comes amid growing public anger over unaffordable rents, evictions and rising housing costs.Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid and around 50 other Spanish cities on Saturday, demanding stronger action on the housing crisis. Around 70,000 people joined the Madrid demonstration, according to the Spanish government, with some protesters carrying posters calling for a general strike.Housing measures rejected in parliamentThe protests followed Friday’s defeat of government measures introduced after the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid triggered widespread public anger.The proposals included measures to prevent the eviction of vulnerable people, discourage property speculation and provide tax incentives to encourage renting.A second decree sought to make residential leases automatically renewable by tenants, according to the Associated Press. The measures were rejected after Catalan separatist party Junts voted against them, alongside the centre-right Popular Party and far-right Vox. Other smaller parties also opposed the second decree.Sánchez urges lawmakers to actSánchez had appealed to lawmakers to approve the measures during a five-hour parliamentary debate, arguing that they were needed to bring greater regulation and fairness to the housing market.“What is behind these decrees is the desire to instill order and a sense of humanity in a market that if we do not rein it in will destroy our society,” Sánchez said.He concluded his appeal by telling lawmakers: “Do the right thing, or history will judge you, and sooner than you think.”
