Maricarmen Abascal’s Death Puts Spain’s Housing Crisis Under the Spotlight

Yesterday 19:15

The death of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal has reignited Spain’s increasingly bitter debate over access to housing, turning the story of one evicted pensioner into a powerful rallying point for activists demanding stronger protections for tenants.

Abascal died in hospital on Wednesday, October 7, after being taken there following her eviction from her Madrid apartment. Her removal from the property on a stretcher, after the building had been acquired by a real estate company that subsequently raised the rent sharply, triggered widespread public anger.

Her death came before she could return home, despite an agreement eventually being reached that was supposed to allow her to move back.

A death that has become a political symbol

Abascal’s case quickly moved beyond an individual housing dispute. Tenant organizations described her as a figure who had come to represent the growing pressure faced by people unable to keep up with rapidly rising housing costs.

News of her death prompted demonstrations in central Madrid, where hundreds gathered near Parliament chanting slogans in support of housing rights. Protesters described the pensioner as a victim of a system they believe increasingly prioritizes property investment over the security of residents.

At Puerta del Sol, where demonstrators have maintained a camp for around ten days, the atmosphere turned sombre. Candles were placed across the square and activists embraced one another after observing a minute of silence.

The protest movement had emerged in the wake of Abascal’s eviction on September 23 and has since developed into a broader campaign over rents, evictions and access to affordable housing.

Personal stories behind a national crisis

For many demonstrators, Abascal’s story has resonated because it reflects difficulties experienced by younger generations as well as older tenants.

Ashley Pérez, a 23-year-old military worker who said she cannot afford a home and currently lives in military accommodation, told AFP that she was separated from her child, who is staying with her mother. She said the movement would continue not only for her own situation but for others facing similar difficulties.

Other protesters expressed anger over what they described as the human cost of Spain’s housing emergency.

Candles and handwritten messages were also left outside the building from which Abascal had been evicted. One message thanked her for helping to transform the national debate over housing.

Madrid politicians divided over tribute

Abascal’s death also reached Madrid’s political institutions.

Opposition councillors from the left-wing Más Madrid and PSOE parties observed two minutes of silence on Thursday, one outside Madrid City Hall and another inside the building before an extraordinary meeting focused on housing-related issues.

Representatives of the conservative Partido Popular, whose ranks include Madrid’s mayor, and Vox did not participate in the tribute.

At the national level, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his sympathy to Abascal’s relatives and to those who viewed her death as a collective loss.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Sánchez’s right-wing political rival ahead of the next general election, called for respect and warned against exploiting the death for political purposes.

Housing moves to the centre of Spain’s election campaign

The controversy comes at a politically sensitive moment. Sánchez’s government has sought to respond to mounting pressure by proposing two decrees intended to address aspects of the housing crisis. Both measures were rejected by lawmakers last Friday.

The government’s difficulties in securing parliamentary support have unfolded alongside increasingly visible street protests over rents and housing availability.

Following large demonstrations in cities across Spain over the weekend, Sánchez announced early legislative elections for November 29, placing housing firmly among the issues likely to dominate the campaign.

Spain’s major trade unions have also called for a nationwide general strike on November 11. Their demands include higher wages and what they describe as the right to decent housing.

For tenant organizations, however, the political response has come too late for Abascal. Her death has given the housing movement a deeply personal symbol at precisely the moment when the issue is becoming one of the defining political questions in Spain.