4:38 Was the creation of the Union necessary given the existence of the PAH (Anti-eviction Platform) on a national level?
11:24 What real advocacy power does the union have when it comes to intervening in structural problems related to housing?
12:56 Here in Barcelona, the city government has demonstrated a certain institutional sensitivity to social problems. Due to this, have you felt any institutional support for your demands?
15:06 What do you think is the most important thing you learned from the process of creating the Tenants Union?
17:29This union was formed in 2017, but would you consider its emergence to be a result of the citizen indignation of the 15M movement?
19:13 Thinking about the internal functioning of the union, can you evaluate your experience with the mechanism of the assembly?
22:38 I read on your web page that the work is sustained by the quotas that the affiliates pay (50 euros annually). Are there salaried employees?
27:54 It seems like we’re living in a moment of distrust of unions, but have you noticed this distrust when it comes to motivating people to become affiliated with the union?
33:05 In Article 41 of the Spanish Constitution, the right to housing is recognized as a guiding principle. How do you explain the lack of correlation between the current reality and this article?
39:41 When you talk about stopping an eviction, what exactly are you referring to? How do you stop an eviction?
43:42 The 24/2015 law’s Article 5.6 states that the State is responsible for finding housing alternatives for evicted persons. Does this happen in reality?
44:46 As part of your demands, you created a list of 10 reasons that provide a rationale for the work of this union. Are these demands protected in any way by the laws that already exist? If not, what laws would have to be created or modified to uphold these points?
47:38 The numbers indicate that the average monthly rent cost in Barcelona is 1,000 euros, but the statewide minimum wage is 900 euros. What solution does the union have for this problem?
48:48 Throughout the conversation, you’ve explained a few of the causes of the structural and systemic problem of the commodification of housing. As part of these problems, you’ve noted real-estate bubbles, market speculation, vulture funds, unjust tenant legislation, and rent touristification. Can you talk more about how real-estate speculation affects rent prices?
53:30 The union’s activity regarding denouncement and institutional pressure is geared towards demanding more regulation. What kind of regulation are you referring to?
58:29 Within the realm of the union’s forms of intervention, there lies legal counsel, activities for citizen education, interruption of evictions, denouncement of cases, and institutional pressure. Would you add anything else?
1:09:35 On your web page, you have a section in which you discuss other historical housing movements. Do you guys feel like heirs, in any way, to this history?
1:10:57 What position has the union adopted towards institutional relationships? 1:13:50 What do you think about the cooperative housing models like Entrepatios or Trabensol?
1:15:26 The Spanish government just published the index of rent prices. How was this news received within the union?
1:21:12 Do you know of other Spanish tenant unions? Is there a formal coordination between these groups at a national level?
1:22:45 Taking into account all of the adverse conditions that we have had to suffer through under capitalism and the climate of political discontent, what keeps you going or what keeps the work that the union does going?
“We are a group of residents in Barcelona who want to promote a union of tenants in the city for the defense of the right to housing and affordable, stable, safe and dignified rentals. The Union was born as a transversal initiative but with a clear political and collective conscience. We want to bring together the neighbors who live or want to live in rentals, in the realm of both private and public housing, to stand up for our rights together and influence all administrative and governmental sectors.”
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