Cup Challenges Catalan Businessmen

After their electoral collapse in phases, CUP aimed to be anti-establishment for the gallery and systematic in the corridors of Parliament. That was, in summary, the conclusion of the Procés Garbí, a synthesis of post-wokism and partitocracy. This translated into making CUP a more accessible party in negotiations and alliances with other parties, that is, with PSC.

From here, CUP only needed to set in motion the classic narrative of the left that is out of power. This narrative is none other than claiming that, thanks to their pressure and insistence, the government of the day gives in. In Madrid, for example, a similar situation was experienced with Podemos and PSOE.

The clearest case of this has been seen with the housing pact. As explained in E-Notícies, this pact was simply more real estate regulation, that is, withdrawal of supply. However, the left, especially the left with electoral water up to their necks, needs housing to gain visibility and radical discourse.

From here, CUP is especially delighted to participate in the controversies derived from their pressure on the Govern. In particular, the anti-capitalists are delighted with the harsh statement made by Foment del Treball (Sánchez Llibre) criticizing, among other things, the new real estate regulation. Likewise, Foment has offered a round of consultations with all parliamentary groups to address this issue.

By the paradoxes of partitocracy, CUP has been the first party to pick up the gauntlet from the employers. In an interview for SER, the deputy Laure Vega has received this proposal with ironic joy. "We are eager for Sánchez Llibre to set a date and time so we can debate who is attacking property, because in this country what happens is that you can't buy an apartment," Vega said:

It is expected, then, that CUP will make the most of the polarization space being created around housing. For the moment, CUP (and the Comuns) are trying to capitalize on the issue indirectly, through housing unions. The goal is as prosaic as gaining visibility on the street and boosting political careers.

The Reality of Housing

Beyond partisan speeches, the economic consensus has been clear for a long time: there is a lack of supply for the existing over-demand. This is nothing more than a byproduct of demographic growth, which is experienced more clearly in the capital, Barcelona.

In light of this, real estate regulation worsens the problem because it doesn't facilitate supply but rather stifles it. This explains why we are witnessing a double phenomenon. On one hand, supply is withdrawn from the market, and on the other hand, the market offers some new type of supply to circumvent regulation. From residential housing, for example, we move to temporary rentals, and from there, to room rentals.

This is why Barcelona has the most expensive room rentals in Spain at 661 euros per room. If the over-demand is kept in a regulated context, it will lead to an increasingly informal, that is, black market. And there, there will no longer be speculation that can provide prices, but rather arbitrariness.