DOZENS of families have been left homeless after a controversial macro-eviction was carried out on the Costa del Sol.
Riot police and up to 16 Guardia Civil vans descended on Calle Sarmiento in Manilva this morning to enforce the removal of 62 families.
The devastating operation has displaced an estimated 300 people, including around 180 children and several vulnerable residents.
One particularly vulnerable resident, reportedly due for heart surgery tomorrow, fainted and had to be rushed away in an ambulance.
Following a tense four-hour standoff this morning, the evicted families marched directly to the Manilva Town Hall to demand emergency accommodation.
The mayor of Manilva, Mario Jimenez from the local party Compromiso Manilva, failed to appear to address the concerns of the families.
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The families had lived in the building for over a decade, having originally moved into an abandoned shell with no water or electricity.
The residents initially paid a token €50 a month to the original property developer of the ‘Sol y Golf’ complex, in exchange for undertaking the extensive rehabilitation work themselves, according to coverage by El Salto.
The developer had reportedly taken out a bank loan in 2014 but failed to repay it, yet continued to collect the token rent for nearly a decade while the building remained unfinished.
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The unpaid debt was eventually passed between banks before being bought at auction for a bargain price averaging €14,000 each by a so-called ‘vulture fund’ investment firm in 2023.
The faceless company then immediately refused to recognise the original contracts and pushed for eviction through the courts, throwing the residents’ lives into turmoil.
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Housing activist group Malaga para Vivir shared footage of the protests online, declaring that the town hall ‘defend the vultures and not the locals’.
The eviction had originally been scheduled for early February but was postponed because emergency services were deployed to deal with severe winter storms.
The crisis has sparked a fierce political backlash, with left-wing politicians pointing the finger directly at the regional government.
Representatives from Podemos, Izquierda Unida and Adelante Andalucia have heavily criticised the local council and Junta president Juanma Moreno for failing to intervene.
They accused the authorities of ‘putting out the red carpet’ for speculative investors while abandoning working-class families to the streets.
Manilva town hall has been approached for comment.
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