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Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Electrician Ivan Camillo has been unemployed for five months. He joined members of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) at a protest in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday, June 21, 2012..
By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com — Despite boasting Europe's fourth-largest economy, hundreds of thousands have been forced into destitution by Spain’s housing crash.
Many Spaniards now exist on the margins of a society that just a few years ago promised them easy access to cars, holiday homes, trips abroad and regular tickets to professional soccer games.
The crisis was born out of a mighty housing and construction bubble that saw house prices triple between 1995 and 2007. They've fallen by at least a quarter since then. About one out of every four people in Spain is without a job, according to government statistics, and hundreds of thousands have lost their homes.
Last week, msnbc.com spoke to some of those affected for a report on the crisis.
When Ivan Camillo, 33, above, took out a foreign currency mortgage in 2007, the bank assured him that he would pay very little interest for around 15 years. This has not been the case, he says, and monthly payments ballooned from 900 euros ($1,125) per month to around 1,500 euros ($1,876).
Camillo, an electrician, has been out of a job for five months and can no longer cover the mortgage, he says.
"The government could try to help us but it doesn't want to know," he says.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Juan Antonio Pache, 67, lost his business and home during the economic crisis and now lives with his son. Pache doesn't receive a state pension and has been forced to live separately from his wife, who has moved back in with family in another town.
"The only ones helping me are (Catholic charity) Caritas. I've always worked, I've worked a lot, all I've done is work," he says.
"I have no pension, no income, nothing, nothing," he says as he stands in Sabadell, near Barcelona. "I'm living with the 50 euros ($62) my wife is able to send me occasionally."
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Tony Cortes and Ana Valderrama sit with daughters Jennifer, seven, and Ariadna, 11, in the apartment the family occupies illegally in Terrassa, Spain. Cortes, 38, worked in construction and Valderrama, 36, at a cleaning company until they both lost their jobs around three years ago.
"I was left without a job and even though I searched and searched I couldn't find another one," Cortes says.
In December, the family joined 10 others to occupy an empty building owned by a bank.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Araceli Sanchez, 48, standing in Rambla del Raval, Barcelona, says she used to work in the hotel industry but has been unemployed for three years.
"We are stupid, we let ourselves be fooled (by the government and the bankers)," she says.
Sanchez gets 426 euros ($532) per month in government assistance.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Members of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) campaign group meets in Barcelona's Old Town.
The weekly meeting is full, with first-timers hoping to get advice on how to avoid repossession vying for time with others trying to plan future protests and actions.
The PAH, founded in Barcelona in 2009, has made a name for itself across Spain by calling attention to the hundreds of thousands who lost their homes after the housing bubble burst. The organization estimates that there are about 200 home repossessions a day throughout the country.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
M-15 activists Xapo and Diana (who prefer not to use their last names), are journalists with 15Mbcn.TV, which works with protest groups throughout the country to create and disseminate video packages about the movement.
Also known as the "Indignados," M-15 was born in 2011 during spontaneous demonstrations against the handling of the economic crisis and helped inspire the global "Occupy" movement.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
Marti Olivella, a long-time peace activist from Catalunya, was a founder of Spain's first group of conscientious objectors to military service. He currently works with a variety of peace and protest groups both in Spain and abroad in an effort to change society fundamentally, he says.
"I am opposed to the armed violence of the military, and the structural violence of the bankers," he says.
Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com
House-cleaner Stephanie Abarca, 28, says the economic crisis has hit her hard and she now works 20 hours a week instead of 40. The Costa Rica native earns 120 euros a month for cleaning one house for an hour a day Monday to Friday. Her commute to the job in Can Matas, Sant Cugat del Valles, outside of Barcelona, takes over an hour each way, she says.
Read the full report: Spain's economic crisis turns middle-class families into illegal squatters.
Leave a Comment:
Same thing is happening in America and yet not one banker has gone to jail when Romney worked for Bain Capital from just four of the companies they took over Bain made $400 million dollars, fired all the employees and shut down the companies.
Obama 2012 !
Liz, I voted for Obama because he talked about change, he didn't have much of a political background so I was excited. I thought he might be the one to pull America together with strong middle of the road policies. I thought the nonsense of losing our civil rights under the Bush era was over. However, Liz, you said it yourself in your first sentence "Same thing is happening here and no one has gone to jail" ----THAT was under Obama's watch. Obama is Bush in sheep-clothing and we have all been duped.
Obama resigned the "patriot act", which was enough to make me not vote for him , however he then became involved with covering up the failed operation of shuttling guns and weapons to Mexico google " Fast and Furious" He promised to not get into bed with big pharmaceuticals and to lower our med prices---he just signed a huge law with the pharmaceutical companies that would not allow the American people to buy cheaper ( and better) drugs from the European and Canadian markets. These few items are just off the top of my head. Someone with more brains and a little coffee could pull out hundreds more. Don't get me wrong I think the republicans are worse and even more dangerous, while the libertarians would just bring more financial turmoil. (Ron Pauls crazy to believe that health care is a right reserved only for the rich--this guy is out there )
I read this article because I am interested in overseas stocks. I try to keep current on the fast evolving Spanish crisis ( I thought maybe Spain would make it through unscathed---boy I was wrong!) However, if you are going to spout political nonsense about either candidate--they are both liars at least read about Obamas policies and the erosion of your civil liberties. THis is NOT the country our forefathers planned.
To Kallie: It's so annoying when intelligent people write well thought out comments. That is part of the problem. We the people can't find middle ground so how do expect our representatives to do the same since I assume some of us write or call them and they know our thoughts. I for one am terrified at the prospect of either one being president and what they will do to the country in the following four years. We really need someone that will bring us together and even though I didn't vote for President Obama I really hoped he would surprise me. OK he did surprise me and is much worse than I thought would be possible.
You're absolutely right Liz. The Republicans have this way of thinking...." I GOT mine......where's yours?" And.....they MIGHT even take....the "little" that you have.
I see OBAMA as MORE EXPERIENCED.....I see the Republicans as OUT OF TOUCH.....with the rest of America. They can't "see" any further than their bank accounts. "Pulling in the gangplank" before the ship sails, is o.k. with them.....as long as they're on board.
"Oh.....you missed the ship?......TOO BAD."
I feel President Obama EARNED the NEXT Presidency. More ILLEGAL aliens have been DEPORTED, and MORE Al Caeda militants have been killed by drones....than under any from "former" Presidents.
Yes...Obama has EARNED his next PRESIDENCY.
Reading this story and looking at those hopeless faces in the photos are a stark reminder of just how bleak, how grim the global economy really is.
U.S. is in no better shape, our news media here tends to leave those pictures/storys out of site, and prefer everyone else to focus on Europe.
Remember, they the news have to keep their advertisers happy or else!
A lot of people are homeless in NYC but why do they always have a dog? If one can't house or feed themselves why have an animal to take care of as well? I thank God that I have a job but one shouldn't lose hope. After all that's what keeps us going.
I did not vote for Obama. Everybody just got caught up in having a black president. I'll be voting Republican again. Can't get any worse.
Isn't socialism wonderful! Obama's solution is to spend and borrow.. What happens when you are denied deficit spending - Reality.
If only you knew what Reality is.
Socialist don't like deficit spending, Tax and spend(Democrat) > Borrow and Spend(Republican).
Which sounds better to you?
I'm NOT voting for Obama this time around in November, 2012.......WHY? because I'm SCARED for the country. We are already OWING.....over 15 TRILLION dollars on the NATIONAL DEBT....and ever growing.
And Obama just LOVES to SPEND Government money......we DON'T have. We just keep BORROWING and BORROWING......UNTIL there will be NO MORE TOMORROW for the American people.
And besides, he's in FAVOR of MARRYING TWO MALE GORILLAS in a CAGE, until they KILL each other SCRATCHING their eyes out.
He's done a good job....but other than this.......his IMMIGRATION RECORD...is DISMAL.
i WILL give Romney a chance at the Presidency. Let's see what happens.
The socialists are running out of money.
I wonder why.
Too funny.
Even though 2/3rds of our National Debt is from Republican Presidents?
Sense, you don't make any of it.
we don't have to send any troops, drones overwhelmed Gadhafi and we didn't lose not one life under obama, now with bush thats a different story, and who do you think ordered navy seals to hunt down and kill bin laden, sure wasn't bush, obama has done a far better job than bush big time, even cleaning up his economy mess that nearly drove us to a great depression
FDR did the same thing during the great depression in cleaning up the incredible mess left by a republican adminstration, same as in 2009 when obama inherit a hell hole due to greed
What amazes me is the lack of activism among the general populations of Europe. Lots of complaining, yet no significant rallying of the masses or any serious attempt to overthrow governments that have failed their citizens. We've become cattle. We moo all the way to the slaughterhouse, but we don't do anything about it.