Madrid Evicts 87-Year-Old Woman From 70-Year Home as Spain Housing Protests Spread to 16 Cities
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Sep 26
Madrid Evicts 87-Year-Old Woman From 70-Year Home as Spain Housing Protests Spread to 16 Cities
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Sep 26
Summary
Maricarmen Abascal, 87, was forcibly removed Wednesday from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for more than 70 years, with video showing the wheelchair user taken out on a stretcher and driven away by ambulance.
Hundreds of supporters gathered overnight outside the Retiro building, but police held them back as the eviction went ahead after the landlord refused a new lease despite a pending court filing, humanitarian appeals and an offer from an anonymous person to cover rent.
Abascal had fought eviction for more than five years after an investment fund bought the building in 2018 and sought a steep rent increase; her lawyer called the force used disproportionate and said owner Urbagestión rejected last-minute negotiations.
The case has sharpened anger over Spain's housing crunch, with protests in 16 cities on Thursday and another major rally planned in Madrid on Saturday as rents rise and affordable housing shrinks.
Pedro Sánchez called the eviction a social tragedy and blamed Madrid's regional government, while tenant advocates said the case reflects a wider European trend of housing being treated as an investment asset rather than a home.