Spanish pensioner whose eviction fuelled nationwide protests has died

Maricarmen Abascal, 87, whose eviction triggered protests across Spain and a political row, has died, the Madrid Tenants' Union announced.

On 23 September she was carried out of her flat on a stretcher after more than 70 years there, because she could not afford rent increases. Her father first rented the property in 1956, and she stayed on as the tenant after her parents died, at a time when the rent was capped.

After the company Urbagestión bought the building in 2018, the rent rose from €500 to €2,650 a month. It later offered to lower it to €1,650, still €300 above her monthly pension. Three earlier eviction attempts had been stopped by the courts. After the eviction, the owner offered to let her return at a lower rate, but she could not sign an agreement because she had been admitted to hospital.

Political fallout

Public anger grew and led to protests and pressure on the coalition government to pass emergency housing legislation. Congress rejected it last week, prompting further demonstrations in which tens of thousands of people marched in cities across the country over the weekend.

The tenants' union said that a historic agreement that would have let her go home had come too late, calling the situation entirely avoidable. Spokesperson Alicia del Río said speculation costs lives. The group pledged to continue the fight, as Abascal had asked of them. In a video recorded in hospital, she said she had not managed to defend her home but had fought so that others could learn to defend theirs.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez offered condolences to her family and loved ones. After the news broke, people gathered at Madrid's Puerta del Sol square, which has served as a protest camp for the past two weeks, lighting candles and holding her pictures. Earlier on Wednesday, unions called a general strike for 11 November, demanding housing reforms.