Thousands demonstrate in Madrid for affordable housing after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal

In the Spanish capital Madrid, thousands of people demonstrated for affordable housing and more tenant protection. The protests were sparked by an eviction in which an 87-year-old woman was carried out of a rented apartment where she had lived for 70 years.

An investor bought the property and increased the rent by 275 percent to 2,650 euros per month. Maricarmen Abascal, the long-time tenant, was then supposed to move out. On Wednesday, after several failed attempts to evict her, she was finally evicted from the apartment and has been in the hospital ever since. The 87-year-old has limited mobility and a disability level of 50 percent.

Since Abascal had to evacuate her apartment, there have been daily protests in Spain. “You could be the next Maricarmen” and “Not a single Maricarmen anymore,” said banners at the demonstration on Saturday.

Cabinet meets next week on tenants' rights

Spain's socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is now under pressure. He announced last year that he would address the issue of housing shortages. Next week, the cabinet wants to discuss a package of measures known as the “Maricarmen Decree”. This includes automatic extension of rental agreements and stricter regulations for evictions.

Critics blame, among other things, real estate funds and short-term rentals via platforms such as Airbnb for rising prices and the shortage of available living space in Spain.

A few hours before the demonstration began on Saturday, Abascal called on Spanier in a video message distributed by the Tenants' Protection Association to join the protest for affordable housing and better protection against evictions. “I want what happened to me to help prevent it from happening to anyone else,” said the 87-year-old. "I want it to give people the courage to fight and change the laws that allowed my eviction."