Amsterdam votes | Hidde Heijnis (De Vonk): “Mass expropriation of slumlords”
The municipal elections are just around the corner. For this series, Folia is speaking with various UvA students who are standing for election in Amsterdam on 18 March. Today: Hidde Heijnis (25) of De Vonk: “We will push the boundaries of the law.”
Why should UvA students in Amsterdam vote for you?
“Because with me and with De Vonk you can be sure that your voice as a left-wing student will be heard. Our connection with students is so strong because the Activist Party – being the largest student party at the UvA – helped found De Vonk. More than a third of the candidates on the list are students or PhD candidates at the UvA. But in more substantive terms, as a party to the left of the left we will continue to build a movement that fights for the changes that are urgently needed. We understand that change does not only happen in the council or through motions, but also by taking action in the streets. That is why we take an extra-parliamentary perspective.”
De Vonk aims for a world without capitalism, shaped in part through the expropriation of multimillionaires, large companies and slum landlords without compensation. Would you describe De Vonk as an explicitly communist party?
“No, because we do not follow a single rigid doctrine, but we are explicitly anti-capitalist. We see that capitalism as it currently exists cannot continue like this, so we want to bring about a new system. But if you then attach such a label to it and fix it to one specific doctrine, it can lead to infighting. There is no need for that.”
“But those anti-capitalist measures are indeed necessary. Look at Amsterdam’s housing market. It is completely broken, and that is partly because there are people who are buying up large numbers of homes in order to extract as much value from them as possible. While a house should simply a basic need, a roof over your head. In Amsterdam we do enforce the law against squatting, but not against vacancy. That is why we want to opt for the mass expropriation of slum landlords; they have certainly earned more than enough money from those houses. That may sound radical, but we are doing it to meet a very basic need.”
“We explicitly state in our programme that not all of our plans are in line with current national legislation. So if De Vonk gains more influence, the intention is that we will push the boundaries of the law. We want to create friction and show that some struggle is acceptable. Many things are imposed at the national level, but we want to make those frameworks open for debate.”
Hidde Heijnis (25) is studying for a master’s degree in urban and architectural history at the UvA. He was born and raised in Amsterdam and lives in Amsterdam-Oost. Heijnis is sixth on De Vonk’s list for the municipal elections and is also a very active member of the Activist Party at the UvA.
Another topic: De Vonk believes Amsterdam should be declared a sanctuary city. What does that mean, and what would it look like in practice?
“That means being a city where refugees are welcome and received with open arms. It would give the city a boost and fit with the diversity the city already has. Concretely, it means creating facilities and support systems that help involve refugees in the life of the city, and that we do not cooperate with deportations. That too creates friction with the national government. And the idea that all of this would somehow not fit or work in our country, I simply do not believe that.”
