Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her Madrid home ignited nationwide protests in Spain, has died, the Madrid Tenants’ Union said.
Her removal became a rallying point in the country’s housing crisis, intensifying public anger and fueling a political debate that ultimately led to early elections.
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“We are sorry to announce that Maricarmen passed away today,” the Madrid Tenants’ Union said in a statement, describing her case as “a turning point in the history of this country”.
Ms Abascal became a national symbol on 23 September, when she was carried out of the Madrid home where she had lived all her life on a stretcher. The eviction followed a sharp rent increase imposed by the real estate company that owned the apartment.
Trade unions have announced a nationwide general strike over housing issues on 11 November.
UGT and CCOO called on people to “mobilise for better salaries, for decent housing and for price controls in the face of inflation that undermines our purchasing power”.
Hundreds of people camped in Puerta del Sol square as part of protests
The protests put mounting pressure on the minority leftist government to introduce emergency housing measures, including tighter limits on evictions and automatic extensions for tenant contracts.
Parliament rejected those proposals last week, prompting Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call a snap election for 29 November, with housing expected to be a central issue.
“A hug as well to all of us who feel this loss as our own today,” Mr Sanchez wrote in a post on X.
Ms Abascal was admitted to hospital with exhaustion after the eviction. A subsequent agreement with the company that owned her flat allowed her to return home.
“The housing debate is at the centre, but the cost to get here has been too high,” the tenants’ union said, referring to an election that had originally been scheduled for 2027.
“This solution has come too late. A totally avoidable situation after a torturous process,” the union added.
Angel Victor Torres, Spain’s territorial policy minister, expressed his sorrow over Ms Abascal’s death and said she had come to represent the many families, both elderly and young, struggling to secure a home or remain in one.
