The Movement for Dignified Housing in Lanzarote gathered residents from Arrecife and other municipalities this Sunday for a day of awareness-raising and cultural activities in José Ramírez Cerdá Park. The meeting allowed for enjoyment of this nerve center of Arrecife as a space for coexistence and brought more people closer to defending the right to housing.
From the early hours, work groups prepared activities and a space for sharing experiences. The day brought people of all ages into a dynamic and participatory environment, with discussions on combative and demanding literature, mental health and self-care, as well as craft activities. These proposals facilitated encounters between people with different experiences and interests.
The movement considers that the day has brought life back to a park whose lack of dynamism it attributes to municipal inaction, and claims its care and use as a place for citizen encounters.
During the day, testimonies were heard from people living in vehicles or staying in garages because they cannot access housing. Some pointed out that they pay high amounts for these latter spaces. People who, despite having employment and stable income, cannot find affordable housing also participated.
From the protest, they maintain that these situations "limit autonomy, well-being, and the possibility of developing a life project." Thus, they demand that the administrations address the needs of those who do not have adequate accommodation and strengthen policies for public housing and affordable rent.
As context, the Cabildo's Data Center records, based on the 2021 Population and Housing Census, 3,101 dwellings classified as empty in Arrecife and 20,012 in Lanzarote as a whole. These figures correspond to 2021.
Citizen action continues to attract people from different professional and social sectors of Lanzarote, of all ages and with diverse experiences. This participation reinforces the open and plural nature of a mobilization that brings citizens together around a shared need: access to decent housing and the ability to live their lives on the island.
The movement highlights the time and effort of those who balance their work responsibilities, studies, and daily lives with sustaining a peaceful protest based on democratic participation.
The event also fostered an intergenerational encounter. Veteran and retired individuals linked to the demands for decent housing during the last century shared their memories of neighborhood struggles that, as they recounted, contributed to the creation of historic neighborhoods in Arrecife. Their experiences brought the memory of those collective organization processes closer to the younger generations.
The next meeting will be this Monday, October 12, at 7:30 PM, when working groups will gather to develop and agree on proposals that will be taken to the assembly on Tuesday, October 13. It will be in that space where they can be debated and submitted for collective decision.
The work will address initiatives related to access to housing in Lanzarote and proposals to join state-level mobilizations that share this demand. The movement calls on the entire population to contribute experiences, knowledge, and ideas.
The cultural event continues a mobilization that links citizen encounters with the search for housing solutions. From José Ramírez Cerdá Park, the Movement for Decent Housing in Lanzarote maintains its objective: that those who live, work, and study on the island can access a home and develop their lives with stability.
Add La Voz de Lanzarote as a preferred Google source.
Stay informed with the latest current news.