Spain's acute housing crisis is piling pressure on Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as his government's measures yield few results and frustration boils over among beleaguered citizens.

Housing has been an unsolvable conundrum for successive governments in Spain, which remains scarred by a 2008 property market crash that accompanied the global recession.

The price of a square metre for rent has soared by 82 percent over the past 10 years, according to online property platform Idealista.

That increase comfortably outstripped average wages, which only creeped up by 17 percent in the same time, according to Spain’s national statistics institute, making finding a home mission impossible for low-income households.

“Finding a place to rent has now become a minefield, especially for the young”

“There is hardly any supply, and when there is, the prices are sky high.”

But since the Covid-19 pandemic, the crisis has become “unsustainable”, 24-year-old Juan Lozano told AFP.

  • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    28·
    1 month ago

    Just to clarify this is a new and quite progressive government that’s under attack by centrists… this is a sensationalized headline meant to assign blame to a government trying to clean up after a long and shitty dominance by conservatives that seriously fucked things up. I believe that efforts to curtail short term rentals in the hardest hit cities (i.e. Barcelona) should help significantly in the short term and longer term solutions are in the works.

    Fuck whoever wrote this article’s title.

    • lemme in@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      34·
      1 month ago

      The title is not wrong, bedevils in this context are burdens / weighs

      The title in French (translate with depl)

      Le gouvernement socialiste espagnol est confronté à une crise du logement "insoutenable

      Translate back to English

      Spain’s Socialist government faces an “unsustainable” housing crisis

      The article also mentions that the government is trying to push through laws such as rent caps, punishments for landlords to improve housing.

      • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        6·
        1 month ago

        The portion I’d debate is that it’s bedeviling the current government. The title specifically calling out “Spain’s socialist government” is pretty clearly trying to push an agenda since it also bedeviled Spains conservative government. A title of “‘Unsustainable’ housing crisis bedevils Spain” would be just as informative and not try and place blame on a party that is trying to fix the issue.

        This is a specific thing that editors should watch for and control so either the paper wanted to push this agenda or the editor is bad at their job.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    13·
    1 month ago

    Good thing you mention that it’s socialist in the headline there, France24. Socialism might not have been demonized properly if you had just said “Spain’s govt.”