Deutsche Welle, 10 November 2012
Spanish
politicians have pledged bipartisan steps to halt evictions after a woman
mortgagor's suicide caused widespread anguish. Previously, a newsstand owner in
Granada hung himself in anticipation of losing his home.
Mortgage
lender Kutxabank announced that it would suspend repossessions after Amaia
Egana, a 53-year-old former Socialist councilor, jumped from her fourth-story
window in the Basque Country as officials ascended the stairs to evict her on
Friday.
Egana's
death, the second eviction-related suicide in Spain in recent weeks, added
urgency to an agreement reached Wednesday between the ruling conservative
People's Party and the Socialists to seek a bipartisan deal over repossessions.
"No
one should be without a home for not being able to pay," Socialist leader
Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.
"We
are living through things that no one likes to see, situations that are
completely inhumane," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said hours after
Egana's death. "I hope that on Monday we'll be able to talk about a temporary
suspension of evictions for the most vulnerable families."
Banks
blamed
Hundreds
demonstrated in Madrid and Barakaldo Friday, with protesters blaming predatory
lenders for the deaths. "Guilty! Guilty!" they chanted. "Shame!
Shame!" Graffiti accusing financial institutions of murder and calling for
an end to evictions also appeared on bank branches in the Basque Country.
Spain has
seen nearly 400,000 evictions since its property bubble burst in 2008.
Unemployment reached 25 percent in the third quarter of this year, a record
high, and the European Commission expects the economy to contract 1.4 percent
the next two years as Spain remains mired in its second recession since the end
of 2009.
Legislative
changes pending
One
legislative measure would grant grace periods. Rajoy said rules would not be
retroactive, but Rubalcaba called for previous evictions to also be included.
Last week,
EU Advocate General Juliane Kokott issued a report concluding that Spanish
legislation on evictions contradicts safeguards enacted in European consumer
legislation. Europe's highest court will decide the matter.
In addition
to the deaths, two weeks ago an unemployed man in Burjassot, in the Valencia
region, survived a jump from his balcony on the day his family was to be
evicted.
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