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| Photo credit — Street of Madrid |
Thousands of demonstrators marched through central Madrid on Saturday to protest the recent eviction of an 87-year-old woman from the apartment where she had lived for seven decades.
The gathering focused attention on rising housing costs and calls for stronger tenant protections ahead of Spain’s next general election, scheduled for 2027.
Maricarmen Abascal was removed from her Madrid flat on Wednesday. Police forced entry after a real estate company that had acquired the property raised the rent by 275 percent, to 2,650 euros per month, according to Spain’s main tenants’ union.
Images of Abascal being carried out on a stretcher circulated widely and quickly became a focal point for public frustration over the country’s housing situation.
From hospital, where she was treated for exhaustion, Abascal released a video message shared by the tenants’ union. She said she hoped her experience would prevent similar cases and encourage people to push for changes in the laws that allowed her eviction. “I want what has happened to me to serve so that it does not happen to other people,” she stated, adding that she wanted it to motivate others to fight for legal reforms.
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Protesters carried banners and chanted slogans demanding measures to limit rent increases and make evictions harder. One banner read: “You could be the next Maricarmen.” Organizers framed the case as emblematic of broader difficulties many tenants face amid high housing costs.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist-led government has faced increasing pressure to respond. Sánchez previously described housing as a priority. Officials are expected to put forward a package of measures, referred to in some reports as the “Maricarmen decree,” at an upcoming cabinet meeting. The proposals are said to include automatic renewal of rental contracts and tighter limits on evictions. However, the government lacks a parliamentary majority, and it remains uncertain whether the measures would pass. A similar bill failed earlier this year.
Abascal’s case has intensified public and political attention on the issue. Protests have continued in various parts of Spain since the eviction. The episode underscores ongoing debates about balancing property rights with protections for long-term tenants, particularly older residents, in a market marked by sharp rent rises in major cities.
The Madrid march and related demonstrations reflect wider concerns about affordability that are likely to remain prominent in Spanish politics as the next election approaches.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers news, politics, current affairs, education, and technology.
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