Ecuadorian migrant imposes style in a protest against evictions in Spain

Aida Quinatoa, spokesperson of “Stop Evictions”

The Ecuadorian, resident in Spain, Aida Quinatoa led the manifestation in favor of the Platform of  Affected by Mortgage (PAH, for its Spanish acronym), which rejects the actions of the Spanish government and demands to stop the evictions to mortgage debtors of this country.

Alongside two hundred protesters, Aida protested outside the house of the Vice-President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, with a green circle in her hands with the legend: ‘Yes, we can’. “There are not evictions, there  are murders!” and “neighbor wake up, evictions are taking place at your door!” were some of the slogans that they shouted.

This is how the “escraches” begins, a kind of protest imported from Argentina, which consist in pointing out publicly any elected representatives who do not attend their demands. The legislators, who are targeted, alleged  “harassment and coercion.”

PAH calls insufficient the actions contemplated in the bill of mortgage debtors that are managed these days in the House of Representatives. In early March, the PAH sent invitations to legislators to attend its meetings and learn “firsthand” the drama of debtors who are about to be on the streets. They didn’t get an answer and now they have decided to transfer the testimonies to their homes as part of the campaign “There are lives at stake.”

PAH members are not intimidated and warned that Spain will attend a “green spring ” (referring to the color of the shirt they wear) full of “escraches”.