On Thursday evening (October 8), approximately 20,000 people flooded the streets of Madrid to pay tribute to María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman who became a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis after being evicted from the apartment where she had lived for seven decades.
The woman, known throughout the country as Maricarmen, died Wednesday night in a hospital, just two weeks after being forcibly removed from her home. Her case has sparked an unprecedented wave of public outcry, triggering a political crisis that led Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call for early elections on November 29.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Grave silence at the head of the march on the way to Maricarmen’s house. https://t.co/wV2B0N7pJV
— Nacho Diez (@nachxdeu) October 8, 2026
The march began at Puerta del Sol, the central square of the Spanish capital, where a protest encampment has been set up over the past two weeks, and headed toward Maricarmen’s apartment in the Retiro neighborhood.
The protesters carried flowers, photographs of the elderly woman, and signs with slogans against evictions, demanding greater protection for tenants and effective measures to address the housing crisis.
The demonstration was organized by the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which had called for a gathering at 8:00 p.m., with the central message: “Goodbye, Maricarmen! Tonight we will honor you with a march to the place that was your home for 70 years and where all you wanted was to stay until the end.”
LIVE | The front of the march in honor of Maricarmen has stopped at the beginning of Alcalde Sainz de Baranda Street, where she lived, and observed a few minutes of silence. Hundreds of cell phone flashlights were turned on https://t.co/OYdgwmUbCP https://t.co/n0dulEt61l
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais) October 8, 2026
Flowers, candles, and heartfelt messages outside her home
From the very first hours after the announcement of her death, hundreds of people began visiting the spot across from the apartment building where Maricarmen had spent most of her life.
An impromptu memorial was set up there, which grew steadily as people of all ages left flowers, lit candles, and placed handwritten messages.
“You made history, Maricarmen” and “Thank you for changing Spain” were some of the phrases one could read there.
Sarah, 41, visited the site with her young son, holding a sign that read, “Maricarmen, we will fight for you.”
“We’re here because I believe that Maricarmen’s death shows how institutions can kill a person when they fail to protect them,” she said.
María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman known as Maricarmen, whose eviction from her longtime home in Madrid sparked nationwide protests across Spain and unleashed a political crisis, died on Wednesday while hospitalized. https://t.co/TdGf3f4Zmx
Advertisement— The Associated Press (@AP) October 8, 2026
She linked the elderly woman’s tragic end to the priority that, she argued, is given to investors’ interests over citizens’ rights.
“When people are less protected than investors, things like this happen. This woman could have died of natural causes, peacefully, in her own home,” she added.
The Eviction and the 230% Rent Hike
Maricarmen’s ordeal began when her apartment was purchased by an investment company, which sought to raise her rent by 230%.
The 87-year-old fought for a long time to remain in her home, facing repeated eviction proceedings. Three previous attempts to evict her had been thwarted, but the fourth, on September 23, went through.
Her eviction sparked immediate reactions in Madrid, which quickly spread throughout Spain.
Madrid marched for María del Carmen. Hundreds of people took to the streets this Thursday in a march led by the Tenants’ Union to honor María del Carmen Abascal, who died at age 87 after being evicted from the home where she had lived for 71 years.
Advertisement#ExcélsiorDigital #Madrid #Justice
— Excélsior (@Excelsior) October 8, 2026
The case became a focal point for the movement defending the right to housing, as it highlighted the pressures tenants face from rising rents and the presence of investment capital in the housing market.
In fact, following the mass protests, an agreement was reached for Maricarmen to return to her apartment with a new lease and an affordable rent. However, she died before she could move back into her home.
“She became a symbol of a struggle she did not choose for herself.”
Jaime, 34, one of the citizens who visited the site, highlighted the symbolism the case had taken on in a country where social rights are considered institutionally guaranteed.
“She has become a symbol—even though she never chose it herself—of the struggle for decent housing,” he said.
“I came here because I believe it’s important to restore to her some of the respect that Spanish society denied her,” he added.
Among those who laid flowers were activists who had helped Maricarmen in her previous efforts to avoid eviction.
MADRID TAKES TO THE STREETS FOR MARICARMEN: “WE ARE ALL MARICARMEN”
Hundreds of people marched through Madrid and gathered in front of what had been the home of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal for 70 years, who died on Wednesday after her eviction became a symbol of the housing crisis.
Candles, flowers, silence, and thousands of voices: “We won’t tolerate one more eviction,” “Rent-seeking kills,” and “These aren’t deaths—they’re murders.”
The protest ended with people holding up their phones and shouting: “Maricarmen, we will not forget you.”
#Spain #Madrid #Housing #Maricarmen #WeAreAllMaricarmenAdvertisement— Flash 24/7 (@Flash_24_7) October 8, 2026
Miguel, 59, visibly moved, placed a red rose at the makeshift memorial.
“It’s really very hard to accept. When money has more power than human lives, it’s unbelievable,” he said, trying to hold back his tears.
He expressed hope that the elderly woman’s death would mark a turning point for the country.
“At least now we’re talking about it and putting names to the people who are being evicted. Until today, 44 people a day were being forced to leave their homes. To those in power, these are just numbers. Now, at least, we’ve started to put names to those going through this ordeal,” he said.
From Protests to Political Crisis and Early Elections
Maricarmen’s eviction was not limited to a case of social protest but evolved into a major political issue.
Protests spread to many Spanish cities, while a large protest encampment was set up in Puerta del Sol, with participants demanding immediate measures to protect housing.
Under pressure from these developments, Pedro Sánchez’s government introduced two emergency decrees aimed at providing greater protection for tenants and regulating the market.
However, these initiatives were rejected by the Spanish Parliament following a “no” vote by the People’s Party, Vox, and Junts.
The parliamentary defeat led Sánchez to decide to call early parliamentary elections for November 29, making the housing crisis one of the central issues of the pre-election debate.
The government is now seeking to push through revised measures via the relevant body operating during the parliamentary recess.
For their part, the right-wing and far-right parties, which voted against the government’s proposals, accuse Sánchez of failing to effectively address the housing crisis during his eight years in office.
Pedro Sánchez’s Farewell to Maricarmen
On Wednesday evening, the Spanish prime minister expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the 87-year-old.
In a post on social media, he wrote: “A hug to everyone who feels this loss today as if it were their own. Rest in peace.”
Maricarmen’s death, two weeks after she was evicted, keeps the debate over the right to housing in Spain in the spotlight, with tenants’ organizations declaring their determination to continue their protests.
Source: Protothema.gr
