The Elkartzen movement aims to recognize the basic rights of all people living in the Basque Country. The representative of the movement has been the first to take the floor: the problem is that it is marketed in an attempt to exploit a fundamental right such as housing. It has denounced that the institutions have done nothing and that the investment made by public institutions to solve the housing problem is very limited. Elkartu considers that a public housing park is necessary to guarantee the shelter for all, and in this sense, he claims the need to take legal measures in the case of empty houses: “If in Germany, Italy, Switzerland or England, for example, the owner of a house does not use that place, the state assumes the social use of the house.” He has also stated that, as long as rights are not guaranteed, “occupation is legitimate as a tool for fighting and as a tool for building new forms”.

As its name suggests, the aim of the Stop Evictions movement is to paralyse evictions and help citizens who are at risk of being evicted. As explained by the member of the Biscay delegation, disobedience and passive resistance are their main instruments for dealing with eviction threats. They distinguish two ways of functioning: tactical actions, in relation to their actions in the courts, and lobbying with the political parties to approve a Basque Housing Law that takes into account the needs of citizens. The movement member wished to stress that banks sell housing packages to investment funds.

Waukee 13 and Errekaleor, experience of occupation

Waukee 13 was an occupied house located in the Casco Viejo de Bilbao. It was first occupied in 2010 and it was a collective housing. After two years of operation, it was suspended in 2012. In 2014, after being evicted from the area of Erribera 13, he was once again occupied and re-evicted at the end of the year by the Ertzaintza. Although they currently lack physical space, their objective is to develop alternative life projects through self-management. His friends are clear: the problem is the lack of the right to housing and the way forward is to move forward: "We don't see that we have to ask anyone for anything to guarantee our rights to all people. We want to build our lives as we want.” They stress the importance of occupation and resistance: “In the face of life colonized by the economy, resistance is what gives us dignity.” At the university level, they propose to create a network of relationships and, beyond the occupation of spaces, invite students to develop self-managed projects: “It is very important to turn the colonization of the university that has been done from the business world. To do so, we must create alternatives.”

Errekaleor has also attended the concentration, which has been carried out from the recovered neighborhood of Gasteiz. According to reports, the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz developed a plan to demolish the neighborhood and build new housing, but in 2013 a group of students occupied a building in Errekaleor. They observed the possibilities offered by the neighborhood and concluded that a comprehensive alternative could be proposed. Errekaleor added to the Round Table his vision of youth: “Housing is a necessity that young people have felt more because resources are scarce: as we have difficult access to work, we only have to rent with the help of parents and with a lot of people”. Personally, he believes that the occupation is very enriching: “Living in this situation develops imagination and mutual care, and in our case, it also means caring for the neighborhood.”