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Palma.—The number of evictions in the first half of this year is 20 percent more than during the same period in 2011, the General Judiciary Board (CGPJ) said yesterday.

Of the 2'518 evictions ordered by Balearic courts, 1'021 of them were executed during April, May and June.
Most of the evictions are sought by financial organisations whose customers can no longer keep up their mortgage payments, a situation which has been on the increase in the Balearics over the last few years.

The biting financial crisis that the country is currently suffering has been blamed as the main cause of people having to be evicted from their homes, said Julio Buendía, a spokesman for an association of those who have been unable to keep up mortgage payments on Majorca (PAH). “We're seeing an increasing amount of people who can't keep up mortgage or rent payments,” said Buendía.
The lobby however, has been having some measured success in putting a halt to the rising number of evictions. Members have been bargaining with financial organisations, asking that alternative solutions for families be sought so that they don't have to leave their homes.

In Palma in recent months, pressure groups have been able to prevent a number of evictions, amongst them the 15-M movement, more familiarly known as “Los Indignados.” According to Buendía, “we are receiving between 20 and 25 calls for help a day from people threatened with eviction.” He said that such people are often suffering from high levels of anxiety. He said meanwhile, courts are becoming faster at processing the paperwork to justify evictions