The Erraki Network for the Protection of Controlled Spaces and the Housing Union have presented a guide to deal with the eviction of a vacancy company in the Abetxuko district of Vitoria-Gasteiz (Álava). In addition, they have explained the details of eviction at a press conference.

They said the evicted family had been living in a house owned by the People's Bank for four years. The house became the property of a vulture fund a few months ago, and it was he who hired the vacancy company. Thus, in April, the employees of the vacancy company, together with the locksmith, were present at home to change the lock. In their hearing, they stressed that "without any court order, it was intended that eviction would be carried out illegally". The legal homeowners, as well as the administration and the Local Police of Vitoria-Gasteiz have reported that they had "clear evidence" that people lived there.

Eviction of Abetxuko

A few weeks later, in June, a bully of the vacancy company and a lawyer were presented in the house, all of them charged. A person living in the area was threatened with changing the lock and made an economic offer in exchange for leaving it. "In this unsustainable situation, the family living in the area felt compelled to accept the money and evict the house for fear of what could happen if it refused," they explained. Finally, the family had to leave the place of residence earlier this July. Erraki and the Housing Union, for their part, have been aware of what happened a few days ago in the area.

In the same vein, they recalled what happened in Abadiño (Bizkaia), where the behaviour of the unemployed companies was revealed: "They force you to enter the houses by force and to go through the blows and the threats."

Functions of vacancy companies

Emptying companies "are para-police groups of fascist thugs" who perform "dirty work" to "fill the empty spaces of the State", they stressed. The main functions of these organizations have also been listed: "taking advantage of the slow pace of judicial proceedings, carrying out evictions without a court order" or "doing ideological work in favour of private property". All of this, as highlighted by Erraki and the Housing Union, "implies the protection of the legitimate properties of the spaces and the criminalization of the occupation". In addition, the Desokupa TV channel of the company Desokupa has also been mentioned, in which they denounce that "turns the suffering of the proletariat into a morbid object for entertainment".

Situation of defenceless of the proletariat, vulture funds and moratorium

In addition to pointing out the vacancy companies, they have today denounced the owners who hire these services and the State which authorises them to: "Even though the moratorium on evictions has been extended, they continue to be carried out." They have recalled the case of the evicted family in the neighborhood of San Martín de Vitoria-Gasteiz, claiming that the decree-law "allows small and medium-sized owners to execute evictions".

Abetxuko's home was, as we have already said, owned by a vulture fund. In this sense, according to the Decree-Law, they could not be evacuated. The fund, for its part, "has contracted the services of unemployed companies and has evicted the family through threats, under moratorium and without any effect".

Erraki and the Housing Union believe that "the capitalist owner wants different mechanisms to do whatever they want", since "this small space that is not included in legal procedures is filled with private initiatives". Thus, they warned of the "situation of the proletariat": "He who has no property, who has fewer and fewer resources, who suffers an increasingly violent situation of unprotection."

The need for the organization and consultative guide

In the face of the "helplessness of the proletariat", they have stressed the need to "develop effective organizational forms" to "defend the spaces of workers' control in the face of the attacks of the bourgeoisie". In fact, cases such as that of Abetxuko show that "if it is not organized, the capitalist owner will not hesitate to put a family on the streets through his own mechanisms if necessary using fascist companies".

They have therefore considered the organization's issue "essential", since they believe that it can "radically" condition the effectiveness of fascist companies. In short, they have explained that vacancy companies take advantage of "the ignorance and helplessness of families".

To combat this offensive, they have called for "accumulating forces". "Otherwise, the evictions of gaztetxes, dwellings, social and political spaces will become more brutal," they warned. The Housing Union of Vitoria-Gasteiz and Erraki, arm by hand, have called for "a commitment to respond to fascist unemployment companies".

In order to contribute along these lines, they have presented a guide explaining what can be done to unemployed companies. Finally, they have called on families, social partners and individuals living in such situations to contact them. "Because only by organizing we will deal with the threat," the event organizers have concluded.