On Friday night in Madrid, the tents of Sol and the large banners announcing the struggle were already visible near Preciados, El País reports. The square sits at the centre of mass protests demanding decent housing, in a Spain the newspaper describes as convulsed and fed up with prohibitive prices and evictions.
The paper depicts a labyrinthine city assembled in only a few hours, complete with its own streets and squares, spontaneous assemblies, and health and care points. What had until now been a statistical crisis — an urgency voiced only from political pulpits — has become a conflict backed by millions of people, according to the account.
Amid the crowds, a hoarse-voiced elderly man with white hair, his nose and chin almost meeting, preached the end of the world. His name is Héctor, he is Ecuadorian, and he stood beside what the newspaper calls ground zero of the protests, urging people to return to God.
“The final times are always dangerous times,” Héctor whispered to the reporter. “Uncivil times.”
Asked what he made of what was happening in Sol, Héctor, escorted by a woman named Noemí, asked her to show the journalist some texts of Timothy, El País reports.
Héctor concluded that the first thing people must do is repent and return to God. He then said goodbye with a smile and went back to the shouting.
