GRAND HOTEL 15-M
Widespread multitudinous protests on 15th October in more than 1000 cities worldwide were organised through social networks using the slogan “United for global change”.
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Following these protests a group of 50 “indignados” occupied a hotel, next to the Plaza del Sol in Madrid, that had been empty for years. The occupation has received the support of the 15-M movement. They have decided to use the property to accommodate families evicted as a result of being unable to keep up with their mortgage payments and people who have lost their homes for other reasons.
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Mrs. Esperanza is 75 years old and has lived in a second floor room for over a month. She became homeless in 2010 after being evicted from her house. She does not have children or a husband and, according to her, the 15-M movement has become her family.
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Luis is also 75 and he was evicted from his apartment in September. He participated in the hotel occupation on the night of 15 October. He is an activist for the campaign “Stop Evictions” which is supported by the Platform for those Affected by Mortgages. This a charitable organization established in Barcelona in 2009 that is now active in 33 Spanish cities. It is fighting for people’s right to a home and for mortgage law reform.
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Ronald is 47 years old and has already asked to be admitted to the hotel. He is about to be made homeless due to mortgage non-payments. He is from the Dominican Republic and lives in Madrid with his wife and four children. His mortgage increased in one year from 700 to 1400 euros. The Caja Madrid bank rejected his request to renegotiate the mortgage and his apartment was auctioned in 2010.
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Since 2008 the property crisis in Spain has left 140.485 families homeless. The People’s Grand Hotel, as its occupants have re-baptised it, has five floors, a basement and two terraces. Its long corridors have red carpets and its rooms have brown doors with gold numbers. The place has become the summer headquarters of the Sol General Assembly. The Madrid Popular Assembly organises meetings at the hotel for the representatives of all the local popular assemblies. The former hotel reception area now hosts lectures by intellectuals and economists.
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Carlos Taibo, a successful writer and Professor of Political and Administrative Science, talks to and debates with a diverse group of young and old people. They all sit in front of him on a discoloured green carpet. Wet weather in Madrid suggests that winter is approaching. In the old wooden panelled hall of the 15-M Hotel people are arguing that another world is possible. In the bedrooms, bathrooms, dining rooms and hallways, slogans are visible.
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At the moment the 15-M movement is based in the hotel. Sooner or later they too will be evicted. However, they promise that when that happens they will find other places in which to continue their fight.
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Text by IR
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Translation by Richard Thompson