Eviction

An eviction in the old town of Barcelona sums up the silent violence of speculation. Outside, anti-eviction platforms gather with banners, chants, and drums that echo in the narrow street. In front of them, the judicial and police device awaits. Inside, a family locks themselves in their apartment: the table covered with legal papers and glasses of water, a stroller in the hallway, the dog nervously pacing the room. In their arms, a newborn baby; next to them, a five-year-old child watches without understanding the magnitude of what is about to happen. The lock, photographed in close-up, marks the border between everyday life and the open air. The staircase, in silence, seems to anticipate an imminent outcome: the knock on the door, the locksmith ready to change the lock.

The Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) has been facing these situations for more than a decade, stopping evictions, offering legal support, and accompanying those who find themselves alone against a system that expels the most vulnerable. In 2024 alone, more than 1,300 evictions were recorded in Barcelona (PAH Barcelona), figures that evidence a structural crisis where civic organization continues to be the main containment dam.