María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her Madrid home sparked Spain’s government crisis, has died, the Madrid Tenants’ Union announced on Wednesday.
Known simply as Maricarmen in Spain, she died just weeks after hundreds of people stormed her door to try to stop her from being evicted from the home she had lived in for more than 70 years.
She was forcibly removed on a stretcher after the private investment company that owned the building in Madrid’s upscale Retito district raised the rent from 500 euros (about 56,000 yen) to 2,650 euros (about $2,970), an amount that was unaffordable for the pensioner.
“We regret to announce that Ms. Maricarmen passed away today. As you all know, she was evicted on September 23rd and has been in the hospital ever since,” the union said in a statement on Wednesday.
Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez calls November general election amid intensifying housing protests
Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez calls November general election amid intensifying housing protests
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Maricarmen’s eviction sparked a wave of nationwide demonstrations over Spain’s housing crisis, with demonstrators setting up a large encampment of hundreds of tents in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol.
The landlord was forced to back out and agreed to allow her to return once she was discharged from the hospital. “While we have reached a historic agreement that allows her to return home, this solution comes too late,” the union added on Wednesday.
Last month, Maricarmen spoke to supporters via video from the hospital, urging them to keep fighting for their homeland.
“Fight,” she told her supporters. “I’m sending you all a big hug and thank you for everything you’ve done.”
News of Maricarmen’s death sparked an outpouring of sadness and anger among protesters.
The people of the encampment hold a moment of silence and shout, “Marikarman is alive, the fight continues.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences to Maricarmen’s family and loved ones, writing on X: “A hug to all those who feel this loss today as if it were their own. May they rest in peace.”
At the Madrid encampment, people lit candles and held a moment of silence, followed by applause and chants of “Maricarmen lives, the fight continues” and “We are all Maricarmen.” “This is not death, this is murder,” some shouted.
A group of demonstrators began marching toward parliament amid heavy police presence and fencing in the area. The protests have been largely peaceful, with the exception of a few clashes between demonstrators and police.
The Madrid Tenants Union, one of the groups organizing the protests, claimed that around 950,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country over the weekend.
On Monday, Sanchez called for early elections in late November in an effort to seize control following nationwide protests.
The announcement comes after the Sánchez administration last week failed to win parliamentary support for two proposed bills aimed at tackling the housing crisis.
Analysts now expect Mr Sanchez to focus on housing to win public support. The Bank of Spain has warned that the country is short of around 700,000 homes.
“We need to renew the support of the people,” Sanchez said on Monday. “We need to mobilize and win a much larger progressive majority in Parliament that will allow us to break through vested interests, bring new social progress and continue to transform Spain.”
The conservative People’s Party, which opposed the housing reform bill, is leading in opinion polls. They argue that the crisis needs to be solved by building more housing, not regulation.
Popular Party leader Alberto Nuñez Feijó also expressed his condolences on Wednesday to Maricarmen’s family and loved ones.
“No more campaigns, no parties, no more self-interested exploitation. No more stones in the wall,” he wrote on X, posting what some saw as a veiled criticism of Sánchez. “In the face of death, all you need is respect.”
