Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her Madrid apartment set off nationwide protests over Spain's housing crisis, has died. Madrid's tenants' union announced her death on Wednesday. According to El País, she died at the Gregorio Marañón hospital at 19:30, accompanied by relatives and close friends, after her condition worsened unexpectedly that morning. No cause of death has been announced. She reportedly died hours before she was due to sign a new eight-year lease that would have let her return home.
Abascal was forcibly removed on a stretcher on 23 September from the flat where she had lived for more than seven decades. The apartment had been bought by an investment firm that sought to raise her rent by 230%. Police used tear gas as they carried out the court-ordered eviction, and the images quickly spread across Spain. Around 10,000 people marched in Madrid within hours, carrying signs reading "Shame" and "We're all Maricarmen". Protest camps have since appeared in squares across the country, including a large one at Puerta del Sol in central Madrid. The company later said she could return at a lower rent, but she was already in hospital being treated for severe exhaustion. From her hospital bed she recorded a video encouraging the movement: "I haven't managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what's theirs."
The protests reflect deep frustration over housing costs. Rents in Spain have risen about 80% in a decade and house prices about 63%. Social housing is scarce, at under 2% of the housing stock against a European average of around 8%. The shortage is acute in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. The political fallout has been heavy. After the conservative People's Party (PP), the far-right Vox and the Catalan pro-independence party Junts voted down two emergency housing decrees, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called an early general election for 29 November. Unions have also called a general strike for 11 November. Critics of the decrees argued that intervening in the market would reduce the supply of rental homes and push prices higher. Sánchez said he needs a broader progressive majority to overcome the "resistance of the elites". His government also faces pressure over corruption scandals linked to his party, the cost of living and immigration.
On Tuesday, the cabinet approved two new decrees meant to preserve the spirit of the rejected ones. Their 21 measures include extended eviction protections for vulnerable residents, a tax on seasonal rentals, a ban on speculative purchases and tax breaks for landlords and tenants. With parliament dissolved, they will go to a 69-member permanent council, where Sánchez is expected to have enough support to pass at least one.
Reactions came from across the political spectrum. Sánchez offered his condolences and a "hug to everyone who feels this loss as their own". Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the PP called for "no campaigning, no political parties" and said only respect was due. Health Minister Mónica García said Abascal had lit "a fuse that cannot be put out", while Podemos MEP Irene Montero called her death "a murder". The tenants' union said the agreement allowing her return had come too late and that the events marked "a turning point in the history of this country", though the cost had been "too high".
At Puerta del Sol, the news was met with a collective gasp and a minute of silence. Candles were lit, and an altar was built in front of the Community of Madrid government headquarters. Hundreds then marched to Congress chanting "Maricarmen lives on, the fight continues". One protester said people would stay in the square "as long as necessary".