Evicted pensioner who sparked Spain housing protests dies: tenant union

Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman whose eviction last month triggered widespread housing protests in Spain, has passed away, according to Madrid's tenants' union. Her death has elicited widespread grief and anger in the nation's capital. Over 70 years, Abascal had remained in her home, until police and social workers removed her from her residence on September 23 via stretcher.

In the aftermath, protests have included activists setting up encampments in a central square of Madrid and demands for action regarding a housing crisis that includes a shortage of homes and soaring rents. Following news of her demise, thousands gathered, marching from Puerta del Sol square to parliament, chanting, "This is not a death.

It’s a murder!" The cause of her death remains unannounced. Trade unions announced a nationwide general strike over housing issues for November 11. The protests, coupled with parliament's rejection last week of decrees designed to curb evictions and limit rent pressures, prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to announce early elections for November 29.

The prime minister hopes to shift the political discourse from the government's management of a migrant crisis in Ceuta, a North African territory, and corruption cases linked to his Socialist Party and family, to the housing crisis, an issue where he can capitalize on the mounting resentment about rising rents. In a statement, the tenants' union highlighted Abascal's resilience and legacy, urging everyone to "fight, keep fighting for what is yours."

Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez expressed his condolences on social media, saying, "A hug to all of us who feel this loss as our own today." Angel Victor Torres, the territorial policy minister, stated that Abascal had emerged as a symbol of the plight faced by many families, as both elderly and young individuals grapple to secure or retain their own homes.