Mass Protests in Madrid After 87-Year-Old Woman Evicted From Home
Mass protests erupted in Madrid after an 87-year-old woman was forcibly evicted from her apartment of 70 years, igniting a nationwide outcry over Spain's housing crisis.
Thousands of demonstrators marched through Madrid on Saturday to protest the eviction of Maria del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who lived in her apartment for over seven decades. The dramatic eviction has ignited widespread outrage and turned into a powerful symbol of Spain's deepening housing crisis.
Protests and Public Outcry
Following the march, numerous protesters gathered at Madrid's iconic Puerta del Sol square, setting up tents. By Sunday, additional demonstrators, including entire families, joined the encampment. Abascal was forcibly removed from her apartment in the upscale Retiro district last Wednesday. Despite supporters attempting to block the eviction, she was carried out on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance as crowds chanted her name. In a video recorded from her hospital bed, Abascal stated that she could not protect her home, but fought so others would learn to stand up for what belongs to them.
I couldn't protect my home, but I fought so that others would learn to fight for what belongs to them.
Roots of the Housing Crisis
Abascal's father originally rented the apartment in 1956, and she continued living there under rent-controlled terms after her parents passed away. When the building changed ownership in 2018, she was offered the chance to buy the unit but could not afford it. The investment fund Urbagestion later acquired the apartment and hiked the monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros, later reducing it to 1,650 euros—an amount still far beyond her pension.
The soaring prices reflect a broader housing crisis across Spain, where real estate costs outpace incomes amid soaring tourism and migration. The Bank of Spain estimated a deficit of roughly 550,000 housing units last year, while subsidized public rental housing accounts for less than two percent of the national stock compared to an eight percent EU average.
