Thousands of people took to the streets in Spain to protest the right to housing and the rejection by Parliament of the government's proposed decrees.

Tenants' unions have called marches not only in Madrid, but in over 50 cities across the Iberian Peninsula, including Valencia, where clashes have erupted between protesters and law enforcement.

"What you can feel in the streets is a new energy. An energy that has demonstrated in 8 days that popular power is capable of doing much more than in 8 years of progressive government," declared the spokesperson for the Union of

Inquilinas, Valeria Racu. And she reiterated the activists' will to "carry on the fight." "We know perfectly well who the culprits are: the real invaders are the investors," she added, referring to the "vulture" real estate speculation funds, against which the government had taken measures in the past.

measures later rejected. "The path is clear and leads to a general strike," Racu concluded.

(Unioneonline)