Asturian Minister Ovidio Zapico Moves to Protect Historic Grave and Cap Rents

Asturian Minister Ovidio Zapico has initiated a procedure to declare the common grave at the Oviedo cemetery a Democratic Memory Place of Asturias. The site, the region’s largest collective burial from the repression after the 1936 coup, the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, will be entered preventively in the regional catalog and a 20‑day public information period opened, with a hearing for the Oviedo city council before a final decision.

Zapico, representing the left‑wing coalition, also announced plans to declare the entire cities of Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés as "tensioned zones" for the housing market, extending the rent‑price caps already applied to Gijón’s La Arena and Cimavilla neighborhoods. He argues that housing is a right, not a market commodity, and the measures aim to curb rising rents and improve access to homes.

Both initiatives are part of Zapico’s broader agenda to address historical memory and housing affordability in Asturias.