Expulsion of 87-year-old retiree in Madrid sparks outrage in Spain

The eviction of an 87-year-old retiree from her Madrid apartment where she had always lived caused outrage in Spain on Wednesday, brutally illustrating the housing crisis hitting the country. Maricarmen had lived for 70 years in the upscale Retiro district, in the city center, near the park of the same name, a UNESCO world heritage site, and had always paid his rent, according to his supporters.

She had been engaged for years in a legal battle against a real estate agency which had acquired her apartment and increased the monthly rent by 275%, bringing it to 2,650 euros, according to the Madrid tenants' union. The case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the agency, paving the way for expulsion, the union said.

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On Wednesday, police forcibly dispersed dozens of activists who were camped outside Maricarmen's building to try to prevent the eviction, amid cries of "Shame!" outraged demonstrators. Rescue workers carried the retiree, who uses a wheelchair, to an ambulance on a stretcher, while demonstrators chanted “Maricarmen, you are not alone!” behind a security cordon.

“Madrid is no longer Madrid”

Amnesty International Spain denounced a “violation of human rights” and “a system that favors the speculative interests of a vulture fund to the detriment of Maricarmen’s right to stay at home”. “This is yet another example of the suffering endured by thousands of households in Spain,” according to Amnesty. In an interview with public broadcaster RTVE, Maricarmen called the company “inhumane, and all to make a profit.” “You cannot make a person live for seven years under the threat of a machete,” she said, accusing the authorities of being responsible for her situation.

Socialist Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez insisted that the left-wing government had repeatedly tried to pass a law banning such evictions and accused the conservative-led Madrid region of “rolling out the red carpet for these speculators.”

Residents of the world's second most visited country blame short-term tourist rentals such as Airbnb for driving up prices and reducing supply, sparking protests in cities including Barcelona. “I'm leaving Madrid, because Madrid is no longer Madrid. And Madrilenians are no longer Madrilenians. It’s all the tourists on Gran Vía,” Maricarmen told RTVE, referring to the main shopping street in the Spanish capital.