Luis F. Durán Madrid
Madrid
Updated Friday, March 1, 2024-00:01
Events Seven workers from an eviction company in Madrid arrested for coercion in an eviction
Events They evict and demolish a building in Tetouan that had been squatted for seven years
The Municipal Police have closed two squatted buildings on Bravo Murillo Street and Azucenas Street, in Tetuán, due to the risk of collapse.
From the first block, all the squatters have been completely evicted:
15 North African citizens with police records for theft, drug trafficking and rape.
In the second building, on Azucenas Street, four families have left, but five refuse to leave the building despite the fact that the Firefighters have sealed off several areas due to the risk of the block collapsing.
The building, with its protected façade, is located at number 338 Bravo Murillo Street and has been squatted for several years.
A
rider
notified the Police saying that his electric bicycle valued at 2,000 euros had been stolen and that he was in that place.
The Police went to the place and upon entering they saw that it was very deteriorated.
They notified the Firefighters, who certified the state of ruin and it was decided to evict all the residents
.
There, without electricity or water, were 15 young North Africans who had passed through reception centers for foreigners and who, after reaching the age of majority, lived in this block owned by a company that had reported their squatting.
After the eviction, the block was sealed and the property proceeded to wall up the entrances to prevent a new squat.
Neighbors claim that it was a source of unhealthiness and insecurity due to the large amount of garbage accumulated and the thefts committed by squatters.
The police confirmed that
most of these young people were dedicated to committing misdeeds in the nearby area of Plaza de Castilla.
Residents are demanding that the City Council demolish the interior to avoid risks of collapse, since in 2015 an adjacent property collapsed.
"Here are the Four Towers, the representation of the most modern Madrid, and here, a very short distance away,
a garbage dump inhabited by rats
," said a neighbor, describing the problem generated by the block.
The company that owns the building has confirmed its intention to build homes after securing the block.
They are waiting for all municipal permits to begin their rehabilitation.
The City Council affirms that private homes can be built, but that
those responsible must consolidate safety conditions.
The situation is similar in the building at number 62 Azucenas Street, which has been abandoned and squatted by nine families for decades.
It is a two-story block without an exterior door, with destroyed floors, humidity and no light.
And what is worst of all, also with a clear risk of collapse, according to reports from municipal firefighters.
In fact, the interior patio has been walled off to avoid problems.
Four families have been evicted, but five homes remain squatted and
their residents refuse to leave without a court order
.
One of the residents explained that he has been “living badly” for six years in the block without electricity and without water.
Another squatter, Laura, with two children, is desperate: "I don't have a job and it's the only thing I have to live on," she says.
Neighbors report insecurity, theft, sale and consumption of drugs in broad daylight.
In November 2023,
there was a violent eviction by a company specialized in evictions
, which ended with seven people from that company detained.