Most Sol camp commissions leave Madrid square to prepare 11 November strike

Commissions leave the square

Most of the commissions that organized the Acampada 26S encampment in Madrid's Puerta del Sol have dissolved, and their members have agreed to leave the site. The camp was set up on 26 September to demand action on the right to housing, so it has now run for five weeks. According to an internal communication seen by ABC, most commissions were dissolved on Friday, 30 October, and their tasks were passed to individuals who will self-manage the space. The movement says its work now moves to Madrid's neighborhoods, where members plan to keep organizing people.

The government warning

The Government Delegation emailed the camp's legal advice commission on Monday, 26 October, saying that ending the protest could be legitimate once circumstances change and the stated aim has been properly pursued. The notice relied on technical advice from Citizen Security staff and acknowledged that the gathering had been protected at its origin. Spokesperson Zahira Pagán said a second email repeating the warning arrived on Thursday, 29 October, after which the group felt it no longer had protection. Pagán also put the number of people who have left since the warning became known at about 600. On the same Monday, the city of Madrid stepped up its security presence over fears of disturbances and looting linked to new calls from the Blocus platform.

What stays in Sol

Not everyone is leaving. Pagán said two of the ten original commissions remain in the square, along with members of two others. The homeless association also continues to operate there, and ABC described the people staying under the tarpaulins as mostly homeless. EFE, after speaking with several campers, reported high tension because a group unaffiliated with any organization or commission refuses to leave. Members of the commissions that are leaving told EFE they would go gradually, though the pace is slow.

The movement's next stage

In a communiqué seen by EFE, Acampada 26S said it was entering a new stage, while acknowledging some wear on its forces. The statement insisted that no governing body ordered the decisions, which instead reflected a shared view among members.

“None of these decisions was ordered by a governing body, but responded to a shared perception of things.”

The statement lists as victories a call for early elections, the approval of two Royal Decrees on housing, and having placed housing and worker exploitation at the center of public debate. It says the support networks formed during the camp will continue in other forms. The group plans to prepare the general strike on 11 November and says it will keep pressing its demands after the state elections on 29 November, whoever holds seats in Congress afterward.

How the camp began

According to La Vanguardia, the camp started after an eviction in which an octogenarian woman lost her flat, and she later died in hospital. ABC says the camp began with a demand for housing rules that would reverse the existing ones. An El Confidencial commentary describes how the tents first signaled a temporary protest aimed at public authorities, but the camp later built internal streets, commissions and a growing infrastructure. The same commentary says many early participants no longer sleep there, and homeless people now use some of the empty tents.