Maricarmen, la bola negra de España

Maricarmen Abascal, a 87-year-old woman, was set to be evicted from her apartment in Madrid's Retiro district, where she had lived since the age of 17. Her eviction, which took place on September 23rd, was witnessed by hundreds of young people protesting in the streets. The images from the eviction, showing the elderly woman in a wheelchair surrounded by police, struck a chord with many Spaniards.

In the days following the eviction, public squares filled with people who saw the elderly woman as a symbol of the immense obstacles faced by millions of citizens in securing affordable housing and property.

The government attempted to address the public outcry with legislative decrees, but these were ultimately rejected by the Congress. This led to an electoral advance and the call for a nationwide strike. Two weeks after the eviction, Maricarmen Abascal passed away in a Madrid hospital, unable to return to her home. Her death transformed her from an anonymous figure into a more powerful symbol of a serious disruption in a system that denies access to a basic right like housing.

However, her passing also served as a symbol of solidarity and empathy in a society that had appeared apathetic and disinterested in the possibility of effecting change.