Spanish woman whose eviction became a symbol of the housing crisis has died

Maricarmen Abascal, whose forced eviction from her home triggered widespread public anger and protests over Spain's housing crisis, has died at the age of 87. The Madrid Tenants' Union announced her death and said her case had become a "turning point in the history of this country".

Evicted after 70 years

Abascal was carried out of her flat on 23 September after living there for 70 years. Her father had rented the home since 1956, and she stayed on after her parents died. She was removed because she could no longer pay a sharply increased rent.

For many years the flat had been covered by rent caps. The company Urbagestion, which bought the property in 2018, cited a legal loophole and raised the rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros. The sum was later reduced to 1,650 euros, but Abascal's pension of 1,350 euros was not enough to cover it.

Courts had blocked three earlier attempts to evict her, and her fate drew growing media attention, according to the BBC.

An offer she could not accept in time

After the eviction, the company offered her the chance to return to the flat at a lower rent. Abascal did not manage to sign the agreement because she had been admitted to hospital.

Political fallout

Following the eviction, Abascal became one of the symbols of Spain's housing crisis. Under pressure from the protests, the coalition government approved emergency housing measures, but Congress later rejected them. After that, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in several Spanish cities over the weekend. The situation, as reported, led Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call early elections.