The Assembly for Housing in Lanzarote continues to grow. The citizen protest set up in José Ramírez Cerdá Park is developing peacefully, in an organized and civic manner, while participation increases among people interested in collectively addressing the serious housing situation on the island.
The Assembly frames its activity within the exercise of the fundamental right of peaceful assembly recognized by article 21 of the Spanish Constitution. The Constitution establishes that this right does not require prior authorization and that, in meetings in public transit areas and demonstrations.
There is also constitutional jurisprudence directly related to the use of temporary facilities during a concentration. In TC Judgment 195/2003, of October 27, concerning a concentration held in Candelaria, Tenerife, the Constitutional Court considered that the installation of tables and a tent linked to the objectives of the protest could be part of the exercise of the right of assembly and declared its prohibition disproportionate when it was based solely on generic inconveniences or difficulties for circulation.
But the Assembly's response to the criticism received in recent hours has gone further.
The participants have decided to actively care for the park.
During the day, brooms and brushes were brought out, cigarette butts and waste were collected, accumulated dust was removed, and different areas of the space were tidied up. The Assembly's will is clear: to demonstrate that the demand for and care of the common good can go hand in hand.
The space, according to its participants, showed clear signs of abandonment. With the activity of these days, the pergolas and their surroundings have once again filled with meetings, conversations, families, children, and people who come to learn about the protest and discuss the housing problem.
The protest is thus transforming into something more than a place of protest: it is being configured as a citizen space for meeting, reflection, organization, and collective action.
The initiative arises in a context of housing mobilizations that are taking place in different parts of the State, but the Assembly insists on building a response from the social and territorial particularities of Lanzarote.
Its ideology is defined as peaceful, inclusive, citizen-based, and active, and its organization continues to develop through assemblies, commissions, and working groups open to participation.
The day was also marked by a moment of reflection. The Assembly solemnly observed a minute of silence and lit candles in memory of Maricarmen Abascal, who passed away this Wednesday after becoming a recent symbol of the housing struggle following her eviction in Madrid.
With this gesture, the people gathered wanted to remember her story and denounce, from the political position of the Assembly itself, the human consequences they attribute to real estate speculation and a housing system they consider incapable of guaranteeing this right.
The protest grows, but also organizes
In a peaceful, open, and collective manner, the protest in José Ramírez Cerdá Park emerges "as a space for citizen thought and action from which to continue building proposals so that the right to housing becomes a reality in Lanzarote."
Add La Voz de Lanzarote as a preferred Google source.
Stay informed with the latest current news.