A massive protest on June 27 brought tens of thousands to Málaga's streets, prompting opposition parties PSOE and Con Málaga to demand that Mayor Francisco de la Torre implement an urgent 'historical turn' in housing policy.
Over 25,000 people flooded the center of Málaga on Saturday, June 27, in what organizers called the largest housing rights demonstration in the city's recent history. The march, convened by the platform Málaga para Vivir, has galvanized the political opposition, which now demands immediate action from the conservative mayor.
The two main left-wing parties in the city council — the Socialists (PSOE) and Con Málaga — held a joint press conference shortly after the protest to announce a united front against the urban and tourism model promoted by Mayor Francisco de la Torre (PP). Both groups described the turnout as an unmistakable signal that residents will no longer tolerate being pushed out of their own city.
“It is contradictory and unsustainable that in a city where average gross salaries are around €22,000 per year, penthouses are being sold for up to €6 million,” said Mariano Ruiz Araujo, PSOE spokesperson in the council. He highlighted that rental prices in the province have risen 12% in the last year and 150% in the most affected areas over the past 15 years.
Ruiz Araujo also pointed to what he called a “demographic hemorrhage” of more than 40,000 residents forced to leave Málaga due to unaffordable housing. He added that over 50% of home purchases in the city are now made in cash, locking out working families. “We do not resign ourselves to neighbors having to move to Villanueva del Rosario or live in caravans at the entrances to industrial estates. De la Torre thinks more about those who pass through than those who decide to stay,” he said in a statement.
The Socialists presented an urgent list of measures: convene a Pact for Housing in Málaga to protect residential land; officially declare the city a “stressed area” under the state housing law; restrict home purchases not intended for residence; and stop selling public land to investment funds.
Con Málaga went further. Deputy spokesperson Toni Morillas called for a “great citizens’ strike” to freeze rents and halt speculation. “The time of Paco de la Torre, the speculators, and the rentiers has run out,” she said. “While citizens protest, the government continues granting tourist apartment licenses to party colleagues, turning the city into a theme park.” Morillas cited New York’s rent freeze affecting over one million contracts as an example that political will is all that is needed. “Each time we are more. There must be a great strike for the right to housing, a big shutdown that precedes driving out the speculators and their cronies from the city hall,” she added.
The protest marks the fourth massive mobilization of the current term, and opposition leaders believe pressure will only intensify. The conservative mayor has so far rejected declaring Málaga a stressed area, arguing it could deter investment. But with tens of thousands in the streets and a unified opposition, the housing crisis has become the central political issue in the city.
The next step, according to the opposition, is to force a special council session on housing. Meanwhile, the platform Málaga para Vivir has announced it will keep up the pressure with future actions. The debate over affordable housing in one of Spain's fastest-growing cities is far from over.
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