Spaniards Protest High Rate of Foreclosures, Debt
July 27, 2011
A demonstrator holds a sign that reads "Stop evictions," outside a townhouse during a protest to stop the eviction of a family in Torre del Mar, near Malaga southern Spain, June 29, 2011
The Spanish protesters who first took over Madrid's central square in May are back again, this time with a new target: Spain's banking laws, which are some of the strictest in Europe, particularly when it comes to mortgages.
In Spain, if the bank forecloses on your home, you are still liable for your mortgage debt. That means people who have lost their homes are saddled with mountains of debt as well.
It is a predicament that has happened to more than 300,000 Spaniards since the housing bubble burst in 2008. And it is something protesters like Susana Garcia do not like.
"This is a big, big shame. Because people have no houses, and big debt for the rest of their lives," said Garcia. "It's like a crime. It's state terrorism."
Garcia and other protesters find out where the next housing eviction will be, and go to the house. Often they form a human chain around the property, blocking bank officials from entering and serving foreclosure papers.
"Shame, shame!" they chant at bank officials trying to evict mortgage defaulters from their home. The protesters are also circulating a petition calling on the Spanish government to change local mortgage laws.
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