{
  "id": 12794439,
  "title": "Wohnungsnot: Tod nach Zwangsräumung heizt Protest in Spanien weiter an",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/wohnungsnot-tod-nach-zwangsraumung-heizt-protest-in-spanien-weiter-an",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-08T05:15:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/wohnungsnot-tod-nach-zwangsraeumung-heizt-protest-in-spanien-weiter-an/100260607.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The death of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who passed away two weeks after being forced out of her apartment in Madrid, has sparked outrage and grief across Spain. Protesters, who have been demonstrating for days at the central Puerta del Sol square in protest of the housing crisis, held a minute of silence for the woman whose fate has become a symbol for the fight for affordable housing. Her death has made her a martyr for many. People lit candles, held a vigil in front of her former home, placed flowers, left written condolences, or expressed their shock and sadness on television cameras. Demonstrators called the police \"murderers\" and \"murderers\" outside the Parliament building, where government decrees for more tenant protection failed to pass with a majority of conservative and populist parties. The leftist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez responded by calling for early elections on November 29th. \"These are not deaths, these are murders,\" and \"murderers, murderers,\" demonstrators chanted at Parliament. \"We regret to inform you that Maricarmen has passed away today,\" the tenants' union had announced the day before, before the woman had been taken away by the police two weeks earlier from her 70-year-old Madrid apartment. \"The real estate speculators have killed Maricarmen,\" said Alicia del Río, the union spokesperson on television. Nationwide strikes demanding a day off have continued since Abascal's eviction. The trade union CCOO wrote on the messaging platform X, \"How sad. We deeply regret this news and the pain Maricarmen has experienced over the years. A hug and all our love for her family and relatives.\" Despite demonstrations of support, Abascal had been taken to a hospital a few days earlier, weak from the ordeal. Speaking from the hospital bed, she said, \"I didn't manage to defend my house, but I fought so that others could fight for what they deserve.\" Politicians reacted quickly but contradictorily, with Sánchez expressing his sympathy to Abascal's family. \"My whole compassion goes to the family and relatives of Maricarmen. A silent greeting also to all who today feel this loss as their own. May they find peace,\" he wrote on X. Health Minister Mónica García also expressed her condolences on X. \"Your fight has shaken the consciousness of the entire Spain and ignited a flame that will not be extinguished. Your dignity and courage show the way,\" she wrote. The conservative People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo expressed his condolences, but urged against turning Abascal's death into a campaign issue. \"No campaign, no parties, no self-serving exploitation. ... With respect to a human life,\" he said. In contrast, the far-right Vox party accused the supporters of the 87-year-old woman of having caused her death. \"They have murdered Maricarmen,\" they wrote on X, \"without any scruples, they have exploited the suffering of an elderly person to launch a campaign that conceals responsibility for the housing disaster from the government.\" More: Opposition leader Feijóo tries to replace the government for the second time – but pays a price for it.",
  "summary": "Das Schicksal einer 87-jährigen Spanierin, die von der Polizei aus ihrer Wohnung geholt wurde, hat Massenproteste und Neuwahlen ausgelöst. Ihr Tod wird die Fronten nun noch weiter verhärten.",
  "key_points": [
    "87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal dies two weeks after eviction",
    "Protesters call police and government murderers",
    "Leftist PM Pedro Sánchez calls for early elections"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The death of Maricarmen Abascal has galvanized Spain's housing crisis protests, with demonstrators now more vehemently blaming the government and police for her fate, and politicians scrambled to respond to the public outcry.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}