The overnight eviction
The housing protest camp on Puerta del Sol, set up on 26 September, was cleared in the early hours of Tuesday, 3 November, after 38 days. The central government's delegation in Madrid said 334 people were removed, that the operation passed without incidents or violence, and that two people were detained for disobedience. Press reports put the number of people inside at around 300. According to eldiario.es, the operation involved a deployment of 420 officers. The timeline below sets out the key dates.
- Camp set up on Puerta del Sol as a protest over housing
- Police clear the camp in the early hours after 38 days, with 334 people removed according to the government delegation
- Madrid's regional government says it will seek reimbursement of its costs from the Government Delegation
What shopkeepers lost
Shopkeepers around the square told Europa Press that the 38 days hurt their takings more than the 15-M camp of May 2011 did. Staff at a perfumery said tourism dried up and regular customers stayed away, and that they had been afraid during the weeks the camp blocked the square. A pastry shop manager reported lower income over the period, including on Spain's Día de la Hispanidad and All Saints' Day. Those interviewed said the protest began peacefully over housing but later drew in more extreme groups and homeless people as its original organisers stepped back.
Allegations of police violence
Detainees and other camp participants describe a very different night. One man told eldiario.es that officers pulled him by the arms out of his small tent at 2.54am, that he was pepper sprayed, and that he was then left alone for an hour. He said he has a medical report to back this up. Other participants said the officers cited an official authorisation that none of them had been shown. Organisers denounced a violent police intervention on Telegram that they said caused numerous injuries, while participants met afterwards to plan a new march to the square.
Cleaning up and damage
Madrid's city council says it is restoring the square and that 33 tonnes of waste had been collected. Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, speaking in an interview on Telecinco, welcomed the square's return:
Sol looks so good, it is there for the enjoyment of all Madrileños and of everyone who visits this city.
Paloma García Romero, the council's delegate for works and facilities, put the damage in her department at about 30,000 euros, a figure she called provisional. Crews cleaned the Charles III statue, which campers had used as a pool and for washing clothes, removed hundreds of stickers, and repainted the lampposts. Summer awnings that should have been taken down in October are being removed and are under review for weather damage.
Regional claim and political row
The Community of Madrid announced on Wednesday, 4 November, that it will open a responsibility procedure to reclaim costs from the Government Delegation. Regional spokesman Miguel Ángel García Martín put shop losses in the area at more than 30 million euros and said Metro de Madrid had 494,000 fewer passengers, at a cost above 750,000 euros. He said:
Once we have analysed the costs, we will pass them on to the Government Delegation.
García Martín also asked why the camp could be cleared on Tuesday but not earlier. Regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso met the new government delegate, Pilar Trinidad, at the Real Casa de Correos after the cabinet meeting and thanked her for ordering the eviction. García Martín said he hopes relations between the two administrations can be rebuilt under the new delegate. The chart below compares the euro figures cited by the city and the region.