Spanish PM Sánchez loses key housing crisis vote after eviction of woman, 87

The Sindicato de Inquilinas (Tenants' Union) activist association which has been co-ordinating protests, announced during the congressional debate that it was abandoning the tent protest in central Madrid. It said it wanted to "take the struggle to all the neighbourhoods, residential blocks and homes of Madrid, wherever there are rental increases, expulsions and abuses each day, and turn the energy of the last few days into a permanent organisation".Protesters are also calling for a general strike over the housing crisis.The left-wing coalition government responded to the social anger by hurriedly drawing up the two decree-laws in an effort to defuse the protests.The first decree included the suspension of evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, a two-year extension to rental leases due to expire before 2028, tax increases for tourist apartments, and a restriction on the purchase of residential properties by what the government calls "vulture funds".The second decree was more controversial, because it included the automatic renewal of rental contracts, a major demand of many on the left and the Sindicato de Inquilinas.The conservative People's Party (PP) and far-right Vox had a...