Podemos and PSdeG Criticize Regional Housing and Social Policies Ahead of the 2026 Elections
Political leaders from Podemos and PSdeG sharply criticize regional housing and social policies in Castilla y León and Galicia, spotlighting key election issues for 2026.
- • Miguel Ángel Llamas criticizes rising rental prices and vacant homes in Castilla y León.
- • Podemos proposes expropriation of large property owners to guarantee housing as a right.
- • José Ramón Gómez Besteiro condemns Galician social policy reforms affecting elderly care privacy.
- • Both politicians emphasize the need for urgent and effective policy changes before the 2026 elections.
Key details
As the March 15, 2026 elections approach, regional housing policies in Spain have come under sharp criticism from key political figures. Miguel Ángel Llamas, Podemos-Alianza Verde's regional coordinator and presidential candidate in Castilla y León, condemned the regional government's handling of housing, highlighting a surge in rental prices — over 20% in many areas — and the region's position as having the third-highest number of vacant homes in Spain. Llamas accused Alfonso Fernández Mañueco's government of neglect and announced Podemos' commitment to making housing a subjective legal right, not merely a business. Their electoral program will feature measures to expropriate large property owners, a strategy supported by the Constitutional Court, aimed at addressing the housing crisis with unprecedented determination.
Meanwhile, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, PSdeG Secretary General, denounced the Galician government's social policy management during a protest at an elderly residence in Lugo. He criticized a new reform by the Xunta that threatens residents' privacy by introducing shared rooms, highlighting a broader pattern of delayed and flawed social policies with insufficient investment in elderly care. Besteiro underscored the urgent need for a strategic shift to place people at the center of policymaking, calling for adequate resources and genuine reform that improves care without causing additional uncertainty.
These critiques underscore growing voter concerns about housing affordability and social welfare in key regions, setting the stage for these issues to be central in the upcoming election campaigns.
This article was translated and synthesized from Spanish sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
