The Puerta del Sol woke up this Monday with a smaller number of tents than in previous days, just as a month has passed since the start of the camping that arose from the housing movement after the eviction of Maricarmen from her home in the Retiro district, where she lived for 70 years.
The protest originated when a group of participants decided to spontaneously start a camping at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid at the end of the housing demonstration, with the aim of demanding, among other measures, the approval of the "Maricarmen decree," promoted by the Madrid Tenants' Union in a statement.
From the organization, they have communicated on social media that the camping "continues and will continue" despite the removal of some tents, and that it will remain while "new people arrive." At the same time, several of them have been relocated to allow for smoother transit in the accesses of Arenal and Preciados streets, as well as at the Cercanías exit known as the "whale" of Sol.
"Reorganizing is not leaving. There is no official announcement: here the assembly decides, not an anonymous source. 11N makes us stronger. Let it be clear: we are not leaving Sol," they have stated.
For his part, the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Local Administration, Miguel Ángel García Martín, has reiterated his criticisms of the "vandalic acts against heritage" and for the supposed "ruining" of the merchants in the area, in addition to denouncing "insults and threats" against the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, which, in his opinion, are not "typical of a democratic State." He has also expressed his concern about the sexual assaults that occurred, following the arrest of a 26-year-old man accused of assaulting a 22-year-old woman inside a tent.
"It has to be evicted as soon as possible. The first task of the new government delegate will be to evict this illegal camping and we will certainly hold Pedro Sánchez and his entire government directly responsible for what may happen," García Martín emphasized.
In this line, he indicated that they have observed the removal of some tents, but he emphasized that, "in any case, it has to leave the square as soon as possible," which he has defined as the most emblematic of Madrid and which, in his opinion, is currently "occupied and kidnapped."