During months, a broad social media push and posters and neighborhood assemblies have signaled the call for the June 29 mobilization, a historically unprecedented gathering in Malaga for the right to housing. This Saturday the demonstration swelled beyond the heart of the city center.
Under the banner “Malaga to live, not just to survive,” more than 25,000 marchers according to organizers and about 5,500 according to the National Police took to the streets to highlight the housing market crisis facing the Andalusian capital. Prices remain among the highest in national rankings, while touristification processes that began in the old town have spread to new neighborhoods. The proliferation of tourist accommodations and the disappearance of traditional commerce as storefronts are repurposed reflect a city reshaped by visitors.
The march, organized by the Tenant Union and backed by 47 social groups including Incide, Inpavi, Fundación Ochotumbao, Málaga Acoge, Oxfam Intermón, CEAR, and Kellys Andalucía, began at Plaza de la Merced. Tensions flared briefly when a far-right faction associated with the group Málaga 1487 attempted to disrupt the route by declaring “social housing for nationals.” The organizers blocked the group’s advance and prevented further progress toward Alcazabilla Street. The incident did not escalate into police intervention and did not derail the march as it continued toward Paseo del Parque and the Alameda, where protesters filled the street and cried out slogans such as “Malaga is running out,” “Tourism or life,” and pointed questions to institutions and leaders alike, including the regional housing agency AVRA, the mayor of Malaga, and tourists themselves—continuing to press the message that homes should belong to residents, not investors.
As the procession moved deeper into the route, the head of the march turned toward Puerta de Mar, skirting the Atarazanas Market and heading toward the Tribuna de los Pobres. In that moment, the group paused to hear the carnival choir La malagueñísima add its verses to the protest’s rhythm.
A chorus from the crowd carried a banner of local sentiment: “Malagueño, go live in the periphery,” while a counter-chorus from the balconies replied, “Here you can always return as a tourist.”
By midday, the mobilization occupied the corridor between Carretería and Álamos, a corridor that has become a symbol in protests against touristification driven by short-term rentals and the commerce that serves that market, including “lockers” that provide luggage storage for visitors. A defining moment came from a neighbor on her balcony, saluting the crowd as they shouted back, “Neighbor, neighbor.”
Residents of the city center spoke about long-standing pressure from displacement, pointing to the rise of tourist accommodations as a central driver of changes in neighborhood life and the rapid erosion of traditional livelihoods. Carlos Carrera, head of the Centro Antiguo neighborhood association, expressed concern about the ongoing disruption to daily convivencia and the way new tourist-driven uses contribute to congestion, noise, and a shift in the community’s fabric.
As the demonstration approached its conclusion, it arrived at Plaza de la Merced once more, where a manifesto was read and the central demand was reiterated: Malaga should not be for sale.