Dear Vice,The Spanish Constitution says all citizens have the right to a proper home, therefore, a house is not merchandise but a right everyone should be entitled to - so far so good. However, it seems that Spanish politicians don´t give a damn about the Constitution since they passed a law in the 80s which basically doesn´t limit the price of property in any way. So, Barcelona, being one of the most expensive cities in the country has seen a rise of 150 per cent on the price of rent since 1999. Scary, huh? Just think if, like in my case, you have to move from where you´ve lived for the past three years in just a month and from what you are collecting it seems pretty unlikely you´ll be lucky enough to get a decent roof to throw your bones every night.The housing problem is becoming very scary indeed, a flat which cost 700 euros in 2003 now costs around 900, however, salaries have stayed the same or even decreased. Over 250,000 people have had to leave Barcelona because they can´t afford to live in the city anymore while the government yaps of how cosmopolitan their Mediterranean resort is. While in the last decade sharing a flat was a common practice only among students it has now become the only solution if your salary isn´t over 1000 euros, which is the norm. If a single bedroom flat costs an average of 600 per month, how can you ever dream of living by yourself? Space is a luxury most young people can´t afford.Last Saturday between 10,000 and 15,000 people demonstrated in the centre of Barcelona, demanding the homes that article number 47 of their Constitution states they should be entitled to. The motto was clear: "You Will Never Own a House in Your Fucking Life" (No tendrás casa en tu puta vida). The demonstration was legal and the authorities had given written consent to allow it, but apparently, not many government officials realized so many people would show up. They must have thought every citizen pays their rent and mortgage with the tax payers' money like they do, because when the Guardia Urbana and the Mossos d´Esquadra saw the crowd they decided they were ruining the city for the tourists that pour their money in the overpriced bars at Las Ramblas, and they started to break down a peaceful demonstration in Plaza Catalunya. Why was a peaceful demonstration with planned activities and a sit-in in the main square broken down? Why did the police smash the heads of peaceful protesters? Is Barcelona really the nice city by the sea everyone in Europe thinks it is? Most importantly, how much does a cop earn in Barcelona? Because they and their bosses obviously didn´t empathize with the protesters. One should also ask why the press coverage was minimum and only free newspapers like Metro and 20Minutos spent some ink writing about this.The housing ministers from EU countries are having a summit in Barcelona on the 15th of October; massive demonstrations have been called on that date. In the meantime, I have to keep searching for a flat where they accept a South American tenant and at the same time they don´t charge you 6 months in advance for the privilege of not living under a bridge. Wish me luck!Cecilia Hernando Doldan