Last Monday, 4 October, a judicial proceeding was initiated against the occupation of the Arrakala area with the statements of the three defendants. At the same time, the Housing Union of the Casco Viejo de Bilbao Old Town Union AZET, in solidarity with the accused and to denounce the eviction of Arrakala and the police persecution suffered by the occupation, launched the campaign "Defending housing, widens the gap". Under the motto '. The campaign was launched on 4 October last at a press conference prior to the judicial hearing and citizens were invited to participate in the concentration to be held during the declaration before the courts and to join the demonstration to be held on Friday 8 October. This latter mobilization was used by the union to publicly present the new devoured space.

They have named Arrakala II to the space located on Somera Street, suggesting that they have the capacity to continue the path undertaken with the House of Neighbors of Arrakala in the Plaza de los Hermanos Etxebarrieta: "Last May, Arrakala was evicted, but we continue to claim the need for an infrastructure that will provide an increasingly comprehensive response to the material needs of our neighbours. That is why we take advantage of this demonstration to present Arrakala II". Thus, the new space has the same objectives as Arrakala: the union headquarters, the emergency housing and the ASETU warehouse.

Ribera 9 building

In addition to the devastated spaces, it was also made known through the manifestation. Along the march a stop was made on the facade of building number 9 of Ribera Street and through a banner opened by the building's neighbors it was reported that the building has been acquired by a large owner, following the eviction procedure of three of the five families that live there.

 

 

 

Through the final reading of the demonstration, the union wanted to highlight the relationship between the housing problem and the gentrification and tourist processes that are taking place in the city: "They want to turn our neighborhoods into nice postcards, outdoor shopping centers, where our streets, our homes and the goods that are our lives (...) In this context, increases in rents, vacant homes, hotels or holiday apartments are not isolated problems that repeat unexpectedly." Thus, they pointed out that the housing problem is structural and responds to the strategy of the upper class. "As a result of this strategy, many of our neighbors will have to leave our neighborhoods (...) The neighbors of La Ribera Building 9 may be the following, but probably not the last."

Faced with the foresight of difficult times for the evicted – cuts in public services, increased inflation, layoffs, rising electricity prices or housing bubble about to explode, among others – and the understanding that real estate speculation, especially in times of crisis, plays a role in capital accumulation, AZET was ready to renew its “commitment to revive the radical fight for housing”.