The Madrid High Court of Justice (TSJM) ruled on two appeals filed by La Ingobernable in June and November 2019, confirming that the Madrid City Council did not have the legitimacy to carry out the eviction but claiming that “the damages are not irreparable”.
Bitter victory for Madrid’s neighbours. Justice agrees with La Ingobernable and shows how partisan interests are above legality and the common good. The TSJM ruled in favour of the Social Centre La Ingobernable, arguing that “the Madrid City Council lacks legitimacy” over the eviction that took place on 13 November 2019 in Calle Gobernador 39.
La Ingobernable denounced that “the City Council did not have the legitimacy to initiate and process the eviction process because there was a current assignment to the Ambasz Foundation and in any case they should have initiated the procedure through criminal law” explains Naomi Abad, lawyer from Red Jurídica who filed the appeal with the TSJM in June 2019. “The administration was perfectly aware that they did not have the legitimacy to do so and yet they ordered the eviction procedure.
On the other hand, the second judgment that responds to the appeal filed by the social centre in November 2019 against the provisional application of the eviction in the process of a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice considers that “neither can it be seen that irreparable damage will be caused if the measure is not adopted since, as the order under appeal states, such damage is compensable if the claim of the appellant is allowed” referring to the previous appeal. According to Abad it is a bit contradictory: “We were saying in November, you cannot carry out the provisional application of the sentence (eviction) because if we win the Supreme Court of Justice and you give us the reason you are going to have carried out an eviction without having the legitimacy to do so. The first appeal (June 2019) was left sleeping the sleep of the just, the eviction of La Ingobernable was carried out in November and finally in February of this year are ruled, by coincidence the same day, the two appeals filed with five months of difference giving us the reason that the council did not have legitimacy to execute the eviction and, at the same time, saying that nothing happens because the situation is reversible and there are some damages that can be compensated, we do not agree with that and we wonder how the administration is going to make this situation reversible and compensate all the neighbors who have not been able to use the center and its activities since then. »
Evictions from any self-managed space are irreparable damage to the social network they support. It is for this reason that the lawyers of La Ingobernable will study all the legal ways to continue with this process, including the one of patrimonial responsibility. We would like to highlight our surprise at the fact that the Supreme Court of Justice did not issue a ruling on the measures of reparation that are the responsibility of the Madrid City Council after having carried out this illegal eviction.
We entrust the current Mayor of Madrid, Martínez-Almeida, with repairing the damage at this time of unprecedented crisis. The social centres are vital spaces for solidarity and mutual support. In these very hard times of social and health crisis, the neighbourhood networks and the self-managed spaces have been the real axes that have sustained life in the city of Madrid.
Food banks, care initiatives, the creation of neighbourhood networks have been the spaces for claiming life in the midst of pain and the ineffectiveness of institutions. It is on this way of living and doing politics that we bet, knowing that, beyond legality, our legitimacy is born from these horizontal and mutually supportive practices. We take advantage of this bitter victory to remind our neighbours and the institutions that we are preparing a very special return.
We are looking forward to seeing each other again, side by side.
La Ingobernable
https://squ.at/r/3ar6
https://ingobernable.net/
Some squats in Madrid: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/city/madrid/squated/squat
Groups (social centres, collectives, squats) in Madrid: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/city/madrid
Events in Madrid: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/city/Madrid
Directory of squats in the Iberian Peninsula:
Spanish State: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/ES/squated/squat
Catalonia: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/XC/squated/squat
Basque Country: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/XE/squated/squat
Directory of groups (social centers, collectives, squats) in the Iberian Peninsula:
Spanish State: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/ES
Catalonia: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/XC
Basque Country: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/XE
Events in the Iberian Peninsula:
Spanish State: : https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/ES
Catalonia: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/XC
Basque Country: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/XE
