Maricarmen Abascal, whose resistance to eviction from her flat in Madrid sparked a growing nationwide protest has died. Her plight brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets and ultimately brought forward a general election after mass demonstrations across the country.
The elderly woman, who had lived in her flat in Madrid’s Retiro district for 70 years, was eventually evicted at the fourth attempt under the gaze of the media, after she was unable to pay the increased rent. She was admitted to hospital, but she managed to force the property fund that expelled her from her home to back down and allow her to return, following an agreement with the authorities.
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez’s government then suffered a bruising legislative defeat when right-wing opposition parties voted down emergency decrees to address the housing crisis.
A fresh round of protests turned violent in Barcelona on Monday night, just hours after Sánchez announced he was dissolving Parliament and calling early elections for Nov. 29.
Spain’s government on Tuesday approved urgent measures to tackle the housing crisis, similar to those Parliament rejected last week.
Rising costs and a housing shortage are pricing many Spaniards out of the housing market, despite strong economic growth in Europe’s fourth-largest economy. The protesters have been demanding stronger tenant protections, measures to combat fraud, and a ban on evictions when alternative housing is unavailable.
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