Spanish pensioner whose eviction sparked nationwide protests dies, union says

Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old Spanish woman whose eviction triggered nationwide protests and a political crisis, has died. Abascal had lived in her Madrid flat for over 70 years until she was forcibly removed on a stretcher on September 23, 2024, after being unable to afford a rent increase from €500 to €2,650. The resulting public outcry, combined with the failure of emergency housing legislation in Congress, led Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call for early elections on November 29. Following the announcement of her death, demonstrators gathered in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol to mourn and continue protests for housing reform.

Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old Spanish woman whose eviction triggered nationwide protests and a political crisis, has died. Abascal had lived in her Madrid flat for over 70 years until she was forcibly removed on a stretcher on September 23, 2024, after being unable to afford a rent increase from €500 to €2,650. The resulting public outcry, combined with the failure of emergency housing legislation in Congress, led Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call for early elections on November 29. Following the announcement of her death, demonstrators gathered in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol to mourn and continue protests for housing reform.