More than 9,000 Almeria families evicted

MORE than 9,000 families in Almeria province have lost their home since 2007 as they have been unable to pay their mortgages. In 2007, 638 homes were embargoed; in 2008, 1,742; and in 2009, the figure increased drastically to 3,463; with a slight descent last year to 3,292 families who were evicted in the province, General Council of Judicial Power for Almeria data shows.

In the whole of Spain, there have been 271,584 cases over the same period, and the evictions which have taken place over the first six months of this year have still not been counted, although the figures are not encouraging, and if the trend continues, by 2012, the number may have reached 500,000.

The spokesman for Izquierda Unida in Almeria City, Rafael Esteban, said that this problem puts many ‘normal’ families on the verge of ‘social exclusion’ His party hopes to debate at the next plenary meeting that the local administration urge the central government to change mortgage laws.