https://rt.com/news/spain-woman-suicide-eviction-378/
A sticker is seen on an ATM in the Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo November 9, 2012. Thousands of people protested in Barakaldo on Friday after Amaia Egana, a 53 year-old woman committed suicide after receiving official notice that she was to be evicted, according to local media. The sticker reads, "Bankers. Killers". (Reuters/Vincent West)
People look at the place where Amaia Egana commited suicide, jumping through her home's window on November 9, 2012 in the Northern Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo. (AFP Photo/Rafa Rivas)
housands of people march behind a banner through the Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo November 9, 2012. The banner reads, "No To Unemployment. No To Evictions". (Reuters/Vincent West)
People attend a demonstration in front of a court house in the Northern Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo on November 9, 2012, hours after the death of Amaya Egana (AFP Photo / Rafa Rivas)
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/10/2012 15:58 -0500
Evicted Spaniard's suicide brings thousands to the streets (PHOTOS)
Published: 10 November, 2012, 06:58
Edited: 10 November, 2012, 20:52
Edited: 10 November, 2012, 20:52
TRENDS:
Eurozone crisis
Eurozone crisis
Thousands of people hold a banner as they march through the Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo November 9, 2012. The protest was called after Amaia Egana, a 53 year-old woman committed suicide in Barakaldo on Friday after receiving official notice that she was to be evicted, according to local media. The banner reads, "No To Unemployment. No To Evictions". (Reuters/Vincent West)
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Basque Spanish city of Barakaldo to condemn the suicide of an evictee as well as to protest against further foreclosures.
Fifty-three-year-old Amaia Egaña jumped four floors to her death as bailiffs prepared to kick her out after she failed to stay current on her mortgage payments. She is the second person in less than three weeks to commit suicide in the face of an impending eviction.
Organizers of the Stop Eviction march called for immediate action by Madrid to end foreclosures, blaming the suicide on Spain's economic hardship. Demonstrators shouted slogans such as ''No eviction unanswered,'' and ''Banker, remember – we have rope.''
It is estimated that more than 400,000 families have lost their homes due to unpaid rents since the start of Spain's financial crisis in 2007.
On Thursday, the EU Court of Justice criticized Spain's mortgage law, which governs evictions, calling for a halt to the reposition of property. The Court said the legislation is incompatible with European consumer protection standards.
Following the tragedy, Barakaldo judge Juan Carlos Mediavilla also said that it is "necessary to amend current mortgage legislation" to prevent the recurrence of such events.
Employment and Social Security Minister Fatima Banez said the government deeply regretted Egaña's death.
A sticker is seen on an ATM in the Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo November 9, 2012. Thousands of people protested in Barakaldo on Friday after Amaia Egana, a 53 year-old woman committed suicide after receiving official notice that she was to be evicted, according to local media. The sticker reads, "Bankers. Killers". (Reuters/Vincent West)
Friday's tragedy follows two similar events. On October 25, another 53-year-old, Jose Miguel Domingo, was found dead in Granada immediately after bailiffs appeared on his doorstep. The following day, another 53-year-old jumped out of his apartment window just ahead of an eviction in the town of Burjassot, surviving the fatal fall.
The growing trend in suicides over evictions is adding to a shopping list of public concerns in Spain, where unemployment is going through the roof – reaching well beyond 25 per cent.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will seek a deal with with the opposition Socialists at a meeting on Monday in an effort to halt evictions, Spanish news agency EFE reports.
Rajoy accused the current legislation of allowing “inhuman situations” to occur by forcing people from their homes while still demanding they pay the remainder of their mortgage debt.
He said he wants to put a “temporary stop to evictions” by introducing a better code of practice among lenders which would allow renegotiations of debt or an agreement permitting debtors to remain in their homes for longer.
Meanwhile, the Socialist party is also asking to put a temporary end to evictions.
"We ask the government and banks to halt all housing evictions until we have a new law," Socialist Elena Valenciano said.
The Socialist party is aiming to introduce a new law where evictions would also be halted if a family only owns one home.
People look at the place where Amaia Egana commited suicide, jumping through her home's window on November 9, 2012 in the Northern Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo. (AFP Photo/Rafa Rivas)
The European countries hit hardest by the financial crisis have shown an upsurge in suicide rates and anti-depressant prescriptions.
Greece's suicide rate, for example, has shot through the roof. The country's health ministry noted a 40 per cent rise in suicides in the first half of 2010. And by 2011, that number stood at 25 per cent in Athens and by 18 per cent countrywide.
In Italy, suicides motivated by economic difficulties have increased 52 per cent, to 187 in 2010 from 123 in 2005, reports The New York Times.
housands of people march behind a banner through the Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo November 9, 2012. The banner reads, "No To Unemployment. No To Evictions". (Reuters/Vincent West)
People attend a demonstration in front of a court house in the Northern Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo on November 9, 2012, hours after the death of Amaya Egana (AFP Photo / Rafa Rivas)
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People attend a demonstration in front of a court house in the Northern Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo on November 9, 2012, hours after the death of Amaya Egana (AFP Photo / Rafa Rivas)
People attend a demonstration in front of a court house in the Northern Spanish Basque town of Barakaldo on November 9, 2012, hours after the death of Amaya Egana (AFP Photo / Rafa Rivas)
and.....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-10/spains-terrible-and-inhumane-situation-prompts-end-evictions
Spain's "Terrible And Inhumane" Situation Prompts End To Evictions
With Spanish unemployment at record levels over 26% (and youth unemployment over 50%), even the bailout-avoiding prime minister is now recognizing the "terrible things and inhumane situations" that many real people are dealing with. To wit, a 53-year-old woman died after she threw herself from a window of her apartment when representatives of Spanish bank La Caixa arrived with locksmiths to evict her yesterday morning. The suicide (following another last month in Granada) has prompted Rajoy to temporarily halt evictions of the most vulnerable families as the government devises measures to help people stay in their homes. And yet, we are told again and again by Juncker, Barroso, van Rompuy et. al that the corner has been turned... we suspect not!
Via Bloomberg:
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will temporarily halt evictions of the most vulnerable families as the government devises measures to help people stay in their homes after a woman killed herself in Baracaldo.The Spanish people are experiencing “terrible things and inhumane situations,” the premier said at an election rally in Lerida, Catalonia last night. The government “will defend the most vulnerable families affected by the evictions and act with seriousness, sensitivity and great humanity,” he said.Amaya Egana Chopitea, 53,threw herself from the window of her apartment when representatives of Spanish bank La Caixa arrived with locksmiths to evict her yesterday morning, El Mundo reported. Egana and her husband’s mortgage debt of 164,000 euros ($208,640) rose to 213,000 euros because of charges and interest payments, while their home had been auctioned for 190,000 euros, the newspaper said.Rajoy is searching for a formula that can help families that have fallen behind on mortgage payments without increasing the strain on lenders trying to clean up about 180 billion euros of bad real estate assets, the legacy of a 10-year building boom. Banco Popular Espanol SA (POP) today offered shareholders the chance to buy new stock at a 32 percent discount as it tries to plug a 3.2 billion-euro capital deficit.Record UnemploymentThe banking sector’s problems are already complicating Rajoy’s efforts to narrow Spain’s budget deficit and get the economy moving again. Unemployment reached a record 26 percent in September and the European Commission last week said Rajoy is set to miss his budget goals for the next three years.The premier yesterday said he wants to agree on a plan with the opposition Socialist Party that will encourage banks to renegotiate loans and find ways for families to stay in their homes, according to the e-mailed text of his remarks.“It’s a difficult issue but I hope that soon we will be able to give the Spanish people some good news,” he said.Egana, a former city councilor, worked as a human resources director for the public bus company in the northern region of Vizcaya and her husband, Jose Manuel Asensio, had recently found work after a period of unemployment, El Mundo said. Asensio didn’t know the family was due to be evicted, the newspaper said.A spokesman for La Caixa, who asked not to be identified in line with company policy, declined to comment on the eviction.A man in the southern city of Granada killed himself last month as he faced the loss of his home, according to press reports.
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