{"id":9193,"date":"2026-09-27T04:29:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T11:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7884964\/87-year-olds-eviction-sparks-encampment-in-madrid-plaza-to-protest-housing-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T12:45:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T19:45:05","slug":"eviction-of-87-year-old-sparks-encampment-protest-in-madrid-over-housing-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9193\/eviction-of-87-year-old-sparks-encampment-protest-in-madrid-over-housing-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Eviction of 87-year-old sparks encampment protest in Madrid over housing crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

MADRID (AP) \u2014 Protesters outraged by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman<\/a> camped overnight in Madrid\u2019s historic Puerta del Sol plaza, where more demonstrators \u2014 including multigenerational families \u2014 joined them on Sunday for a second day of protests over Spain\u2019s housing crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands marched through Madrid on Saturday to protest the eviction of Mar\u00eda del Carmen Abascal from the apartment in the upscale Retiro neighborhood where she had lived for more than seven decades.<\/p>\n

The demonstrators are demanding stronger tenant protections, measures to combat fraud and a ban on evictions when alternative housing is unavailable.<\/p>\n

Many refused to leave after Saturday\u2019s march and pitched tents in Puerta del Sol for the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing situation is unsustainable,\u201d said Natalia Navarro, a 27-year-old actress who was among those camping out at the plaza. \u201cWe are all out on the street because we are fed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
A protester camps during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe wave of indignation and anger that has been unleashed is now unstoppable,\u201d said Alicia del R\u00edo, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants\u2019 Union, which led the protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will remain here\u201d until the government passes new laws, including indefinite rental contracts, and stops evictions like Abascal\u2019s, del R\u00edo told journalists at the plaza on Sunday. Spain’s Socialist-led government is expected to announce new measures in its weekly cabinet meeting next Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Eviction ‘sparked this social unrest’<\/p>\n

On Sept. 23, Abascal was carried from her apartment on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance as supporters \u2014 who had tried unsuccessfully to stop the eviction \u2014 chanted her nickname, \u201cMaricarmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what\u2019s theirs,\u201d Abascal said in a video recorded from her hospital bed after the eviction.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Maricarmen, 87, waits at home for police to arrive before being evicted from the home where she lived in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (Fernando S\u00e1nchez\/Europa Press via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Images of the eviction spread widely across Spain, fueling outrage and criticism of public authorities and real estate investment companies accused of pricing residents out of their homes. Critics often refer to such companies as \u201cvulture funds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaricarmen has been, in a way, the last straw that sparked this social unrest,\u201d said Sim\u00f3n de la Riva, 43, a teacher who took part in Saturday’s protests. <\/p>\n

Speaking at a Socialist Party rally in Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez addressed Abascal directly: \u201cI have a message for you, Maricarmen: the government is working around the clock to bring a Royal Decree on housing next Tuesday. And I ask parliamentary groups to make one last effort to have it validated in the National Parliament for Maricarmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abascal has criticized S\u00e1nchez and blamed him for her ordeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes he not realize the quantity of evictions that there are daily?\u201d she asked during an interview with Spain\u2019s state broadcaster RTVE the day before she was forcibly removed from her home. \u201cDoes he not realize, or does he not want to realize?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Protesters camp during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters, at Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A home for seven decades<\/p>\n

Spanish media reported that Abascal\u2019s father first rented the apartment in 1956 and that she remained there as a tenant under rent controls after her parents died.<\/p>\n

The building changed ownership in 2018, and Abascal was offered the opportunity to buy the apartment but could not afford it, according to the Madrid Tenants\u2019 Union.<\/p>\n

Urbagesti\u00f3n, an investment fund that later bought the unit, raised her monthly rent from 500 euros ($570) to 2,650 euros. <\/p>\n

It subsequently lowered the rent to 1,650 euros, which Abascal still could not afford on her pension, the union said.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Protesters camp during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rising costs and a growing housing shortage<\/p>\n

Rising costs and a housing shortage are pricing many Spaniards out of the market<\/a>, despite strong economic growth in Europe\u2019s fourth-largest economy. Incomes have not kept pace with the rising housing costs, and analysts say tourism and immigration-driven population growth in cities have placed further pressure on the limited housing supply.<\/p>\n

The Bank of Spain estimated that the country had a shortage of about 550,000 homes last year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a substantial share.<\/p>\n

The demonstrations in the symbolic Madrid plaza this weekend reminded many in Spain of the historic demonstrations starting May 15, 2011, when members of the \u201cindignados movement\u201d camped for 28 days straight<\/a>, sparking similar sit-ins across the country and the world. That movement was a reaction to evictions and other issues following a global economic crisis, including unemployment, austerity measures and corruption.<\/p>\n

Estefania Molina, a political scientist and columnist, said the stakes of popular frustration are growing. In 2011, “people protested because they couldn\u2019t buy an apartment.”<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the protest is about not being able to rent a room in someone else\u2019s home,” she told Spanish television. <\/p>\n

Spain<\/a> ranks near the bottom of countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for subsidized public rental housing, which represents less than 2% of the country’s housing stock. The European Union average is 8%.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press journalist Suman Naishadham contributed to this report from Madrid. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MADRID (AP) \u2014 Protesters outraged by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman camped overnight in Madrid\u2019s historic Puerta del Sol plaza, where more demonstrators \u2014 including multigenerational families \u2014 joined them on Sunday for a second day of protests over Spain\u2019s housing crisis. Tens of thousands marched through Madrid on Saturday to protest the eviction […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":9199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"6f74de07-bf2c-4192-aedc-0c9089f8a331","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Alicia Le\u00f3n And Renata Brito","published":"2026-09-27 04:29:24","updated":"2026-09-27 12:38:42","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1737,1738],"tags":[],"region":[1835],"class_list":["post-9193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world","region-world"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9193\/eviction-of-87-year-old-sparks-encampment-protest-in-madrid-over-housing-crisis\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Eviction of 87-year-old sparks encampment protest in Madrid over housing crisis","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9193\/eviction-of-87-year-old-sparks-encampment-protest-in-madrid-over-housing-crisis\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/9193\/eviction-of-87-year-old-sparks-encampment-protest-in-madrid-over-housing-crisis\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-b5ed57918c700098ca40b5eebfceac908f4e2dd97816bddfe8b9cb1b7dd2e5a2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-b5ed57918c700098ca40b5eebfceac908f4e2dd97816bddfe8b9cb1b7dd2e5a2.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNhome","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-09-27T11:29:24Z","datePublished":"2026-09-27T11:29:24Z","dateModified":"2026-09-27T19:45:05Z"},"rendered":"