From contradiction to dialectic: Spain's mortgage crisis and the Mortgage Affected Platform

Abstract

The paper analyzes the practices carried by the social movement “Plataforma de Afetados das Hipotecas - PAH” (verbatim, Platform for People Affected by Mortgages) and its incidence in the context of the housing crisis in Spain at 2008. The focus is the systematic and intentional actions triggered by the movement in terms of constructing social force as a civil action, the comunication strategies as incidence setting up na explanatory narrative about the mortgage and housing crisis, as well as the performance against the institutional political agenda. The qualitative research was carried out through a literature review, data collection with participant’s observation in the field and interviews. The evidence shows that the PAH has been asserting itself as a new political actor, sustaining the conflict with private and State stakeholders, developing a media narrative on the housing crises and guiding the political agenda in the defense of housing as a right , contributing to the political perspective of the Right to the City.