Elderly Spanish housing protest icon dies after forced eviction

Maria del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction sparked massive housing protests across Spain, has died in a Madrid hospital after a protracted legal battle with a real estate firm over the home she had lived in for seven decades.

Her death was announced by the Madrid Tenants’ Union, prompting hundreds of protesters in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square to hold a minute of silence for Abascal, widely known as ‘Maricarmen’.
Abascal became a symbol of growing anger over Spain’s housing crisis, where the average rent has almost doubled over the past decade, with protests often blaming investment “vulture funds” – such as Blackstone and BlackRock – for the trend.

The protests erupted in force on September 23, when riot police dispersed hundreds of activists attempting to prevent Abascal’s removal from her Madrid apartment, with images of an elderly woman being taken away on a stretcher fueling public outrage.

Three days later, tens of thousands marched through the Spanish capital, establishing a camp in Puerta del Sol square and sparking a major political crisis.

Abascal’s family first rented the apartment in 1956, with the tenancy passing from her father to her mother and eventually to her. In 2018, the real estate company Urbagestion purchased the property and later challenged her right to remain. Following a lengthy court battle, the company offered her a new rent contract at around €1,600 ($1,800) per month, compared with the roughly €500 she had previously paid from her monthly pension of €1,400.