Fall Maricarmen: Nach Seniorin-Tod neue Proteste gegen Wohnkrise in Spanien

Ten of thousands of people in Spain have memorialized Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who was evicted from her home and died just two weeks later, while loudly protesting forced evictions and housing shortages. Demonstrators marched from a protest camp on Madrid's Puerta del Sol to Abascal's former apartment in the Retiro district.

Memorials were held not only in the capital but also in numerous other cities across the country. Police estimated at least 20,000 participants in Madrid alone, chanting slogans like "Geier raus aus unseren Vierteln!" (Feral pigeons out of our neighborhoods!) and "We are all Maricarmen!" The "Case of Maricarmen" became a symbol of the fight for affordable housing nationwide.

Abascal was first removed from her 70-year-old apartment by police just two weeks prior to her death. She unexpectedly passed away on Wednesday. The forced eviction of the senior citizen immediately sparked widespread outrage and a nationwide protest movement. Since then, there have been multiple demonstrations with tens of thousands of participants.

In Madrid and elsewhere, protest camps have emerged. On November 11th, a nationwide general strike for affordable housing is planned. "The real estate speculators killed Maricarmen," said Alicia del Río, spokesperson for the Spanish tenants' association, on Spanish television. Shortly after her forced eviction, Abascal was hospitalized on September 23rd.

Just before her death, an agreement was reached that would have allowed her to return to her apartment. This did not happen. Her death has made her a martyr to many. "The real estate speculators killed Maricarmen," the spokesperson for the Spanish tenants' association, Alicia del Río, stated on Spanish television. Following the news of her death, hundreds of people spontaneously gathered at the Parliament building Wednesday evening.

The previous Friday, government decrees by the leftist government against more tenant protections had been defeated by conservative and populist parties in the majority. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez subsequently announced an early parliamentary election for November 29th. Housing shortages are among Spain's most pressing social problems, with rents rising sharply in many cities and affordable housing becoming increasingly scarce. The Spanish Central Bank recently estimated the national housing deficit at around 750,000 units.