Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has criticised Jeff Bezos after the Amazon founder weighed in on Spain's housing crisis, calling him an "oligarch" who "wants to live on Mars." The clash followed Bezos reposting a comment on X by Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés, who said Spain's problem was a lack of housing rather than a need for more government intervention; Bezos called it a "100pc correct diagnosis and prescription." Sánchez, speaking to the newspaper El Diario in his first interview since calling a snap election for Nov 29, suggested Bezos may have an ulterior motive, pointing to proposed regulations for data centres requiring renewable energy, efficient water management and Spanish data sovereignty. The prime minister has earmarked €7bn for the next four years to build more public housing and impose rent controls, and has proposed suspending evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, two-year extensions to leases expiring before 2028 and automatic renewal of rental contracts, after parliament rejected his plans. Public anger boiled over last month following the eviction and death of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old Madrid pensioner, and Sánchez said the election choice was "either people, or the interests of vulture funds."
Amazon.com IncSpain's PM criticizes Bezos and points to proposed data-centre regulations (renewable energy, water management, data sovereignty) that could affect Amazon's data centres in Spain.
