Several thousand people, around fifteen thousand according to sources from the Government Delegation, gathered this Wednesday in front of the controversial penthouse acquired by the Community of Madrid in the Chamberí neighborhood to demand that the property be allocated to Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman evicted hours before from the Retiro home where she had resided for more than seven decades.
The mobilization, called by the Madrid Tenants' Union, has forced traffic to be cut off in General Martínez Campos and part of Paseo de la Castellana, towards which the concentration has advanced. Although the police have dissuaded most of the protesters, some two hundred people have managed to cut off traffic on the central promenade with a 'sit-in' that would be dissolved at the height of Rubén Darío. The protesters are currently heading again towards the General Martínez Campos promenade.
"The neighborhood is not for sale, the neighborhood defends itself!" and "Maricarmen you are not alone!" were some of the slogans chanted by attendees, as well as "Nazi by day, police by night!" or "Housing is a right."
The protest occurs after the eviction of Maricarmen from her home at number 46 Alcalde Sáinz de Baranda Street, in the Retiro district, was carried out this Wednesday.
Evicted after more than 70 years in her home
This Wednesday, the judicial commission carried out the release of Maricarmen, 87, after several previous eviction attempts.
Hundreds of neighbors and activists had gathered since the previous night in the vicinity of the building to try to prevent the launch. During the morning there were moments of tension coinciding with the police deployment and the arrival of the judicial commission.
Finally, shortly before 1:00 p.m., Maricarmen left the building on a stretcher assisted by Samur health workers, while those gathered showed their support for the woman.
The elderly woman had resided in the property since 1956. The property, Urba Gestión Desarrollo e Inversión, did not accept the different proposals made to avoid or postpone the launch, as explained by Maricarmen's lawyer.
Among them was the offer of an anonymous donor who had agreed to assume part of the cost of the rent so that the woman could remain at home.
Protests in different cities
The Maricarmen case has also provoked mobilizations called by tenant organizations in different parts of the country. The groups have presented the eviction as a symbol of the problems of access to housing and have demanded measures against foreclosures and real estate speculation.
In Madrid, the afternoon protest has moved the focus from Maricarmen's home, in Retiro, to General Martínez Campos' property acquired by the Community of Madrid.
The penthouse is at the center of a political controversy since its purchase by the regional government emerged. The Community paid around 6.3 million euros for the property and subsequently decided to put it up for auction. The procedure ended without offers for the penthouse.
The protesters have used precisely this acquisition to contrast the public spending allocated to the property with the situation of Maricarmen and demand that the home have a social use.
Crossing of responsibilities for housing policy
The Tenants' Union has also directed its criticism at the central government and has demanded new measures to prevent evictions of vulnerable people.
For their part, different administrations have defended in recent weeks the actions carried out in relation to the case, while housing groups have accused both the central and regional Executives of not having offered a solution that would allow Maricarmen to remain at home.
The eviction and the mobilizations also occur coinciding with several events and meetings related to the real estate market in Madrid, a circumstance that the organizing organizations have taken advantage of to reinforce their criticism of the housing model and demand greater protection for tenants.
