Eviction of 87-year-old puts Spain’s deepening housing crisis in the spotlight

Images of Maricarmen Abascal being forcibly removed from her home sparked protests and a reckoning over the country’s soaring real estate market

Images of an octogenarian being evicted from the home she had lived in for seven decades on a stretcher, flanked by protesters and police officers, have sparked indignation across Spain.

At the weekend, days after the first protests began, Madrid’s central Sol plaza was still full of anger at the treatment of Maricarmen Abascal. Tens of thousands of people marched through Spain’s capital on Saturday, rattling keys as they called for measures to curb rising housing costs and make evictions more difficult. Some brought tents and sleeping bags, announcing plans to set up a protest camp. Come Sunday, many were still there: their demand, a nationwide reckoning over access to housing.

The catalyst was the eviction of Abascal, now known across the country by her first name. The 87-year-old woman with a disability said she had been forced to leave her home after she was unable to afford the 230% rent hike demanded by the investment fund that bought her apartment.

“This eviction is the canary in the coalmine,” said political scientist Cristina Monge. “It’s become a symbol, seen as the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the issue of housing.”