Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old resident whose forced eviction from her Madrid apartment sparked nationwide housing protests and a political crisis in Spain, has died in a Madrid hospital, the tenants’ union Sindicato de Inquilinas announced. NOS Nieuws reported that Abascal had lived in her home in the Retiro district for approximately seventy years before being carried out on a stretcher on September 23, after a real estate investment company bought the building and raised her rent beyond her pension.
Eviction From a Lifelong Home in Madrid Triggers National Outrage
Abascal’s father originally rented the apartment in 1956 under an old rental contract known as a renta antigua, which kept the monthly rate at 500 euros. After her parents passed away, the contract transferred to Abascal in 2005. In 2020, investment company Urbagestión purchased the property and terminated the agreement, raising the monthly rent to roughly 1,600 euros. At the time, Abascal’s pension sat between 1,300 and 1,400 euros. After a legal battle lasting nearly seven years, the real estate firm carried out the eviction on the fourth attempt, as hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside. Police eventually dispersed the crowd with tear gas, while television footage of Abascal being wheeled out on a stretcher circulated across the country.
Mass Protests Force a Concession and a Political Crisis
The eviction galvanized tenant rights groups across Spain, bringing tens of thousands of demonstrators into the streets under the slogan Ni una Maricarmen más
(Not one more Maricarmen). Protesters established a tent camp on the Puerta del Sol in central Madrid, while similar demonstrations erupted in Barcelona, Valencia, Vigo, Granada, and Sevilla. The intensity of the public backlash forced the landlord to reverse course. Within days of the eviction, Abascal’s lawyer announced an agreement brokered by the municipal housing company EMVS, granting her a new eight-year lease where the rent would not exceed 30 percent of her net income. Despite the agreement, Abascal never returned to the apartment; she remained hospitalized due to declining health and passed away at Gregorio Marañón-ziekenhuis without ever stepping foot back inside her home.
Government Decrees and Early Elections Follow Abascal’s Case
The political fallout from the housing protests prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to act after parliament initially rejected two government decrees aimed at cooling the housing market. NOS Nieuws reported that the Spanish government subsequently approved two housing market decrees containing rent caps, a temporary ban on evictions, and restrictions on corporate home purchases. Sánchez stated that the measures were based on common sense and backed by public opinion polls showing majority support for state intervention. Because the national parliament was dissolved after rejecting the initial proposals, Sánchez scheduled early general elections for November 29. This parliamentary dissolution allows the decrees to take effect temporarily before passing to a permanent 69-member standing body for confirmation. The government formally named the emergency housing decrees after Maricarmen Abascal, while Prime Minister Sánchez publicly expressed condolences to her family.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Maricarmen Abascal Housing Crisis
How long did Maricarmen Abascal live in her Retiro district apartment?
Abascal lived in the same apartment in Madrid’s Retiro neighborhood for approximately seventy years, having moved there with her family after her father rented the property in 1956.
What was the monthly rent increase that led to the eviction?
Her rent jumped from 500 euros under a legacy rent contract to roughly 1,600 to 1,650 euros per month after investment firm Urbagestión bought the building in 2020.
Did Abascal get to move back into her home before she died?
While a negotiated agreement between her lawyer, the tenants’ union, and the landlord granted her a new eight-year lease days after the eviction, she remained in the hospital due to declining health and passed away without returning to the apartment.
What political changes resulted from the eviction protests?
The widespread protests and political stalemate forced Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to schedule early general elections for November 29, and enabled the cabinet to temporarily enact housing decrees featuring rent caps and eviction bans.
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