Madrid pensioner at centre of housing protests dies after eviction

An 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her long-term home became a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis has died in hospital.

Maricarmen Abascal was removed from her apartment in Madrid’s Retiro district on 23 September following a prolonged legal dispute. She had lived at the property for around 70 years and was taken away on a stretcher after her health had deteriorated.

Abascal was admitted to Gregorio Marañón Hospital suffering from severe anxiety and exhaustion, according to reports. She remained there until her death on 7 October. No official cause of death has been announced, and it has not been established that the eviction caused her death.

Images of the pensioner’s removal prompted widespread anger and demonstrations over housing affordability and tenants’ rights. Protesters gathered in Madrid and other Spanish cities, while campaigners established a protest camp in Puerta del Sol.

The eviction followed a lengthy disagreement over the status of an old rental agreement. Abascal continued paying approximately €500 a month, but the property owner sought possession after courts ruled that the original tenancy had expired. An alternative rent reportedly offered to her was more than her monthly pension.

Days after she was evicted, an agreement was reached that would have allowed Abascal to return to the apartment under a new eight-year tenancy at a rent similar to what she had previously paid. She died before she was able to go home.

Her death has brought renewed attention to the human consequences of Spain’s housing pressures. Tenant campaigners have described Abascal as a symbol of resistance, while thousands of demonstrators returned to the streets of Madrid following confirmation of her death.

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