Tens of Thousands Storm Madrid Streets After 87-Year-Old Evicted on a Stretcher
The forced eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, wheelchair-bound and 87, from the home she'd lived in for decades has ignited Spain's biggest housing protest in years and an overnight encampment in the capital's most famous square.
MADRID — Tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded central Madrid on Saturday, camping overnight in the historic Puerta del Sol plaza to protest Spain's deepening housing crisis after video of an elderly woman being evicted from her home on a stretcher went viral nationwide.
The eviction that triggered the march happened days earlier in the capital's Retiro neighborhood. Maricarmen Abascal, 87, a wheelchair user who had lived in the same apartment since 1955, was carried out of the building on a stretcher and driven away by ambulance as officials carried out a court-ordered eviction.
"I HAVEN'T MANAGED TO DEFEND MY HOME, BUT I HAVE FOUGHT SO THAT OTHERS CAN LEARN TO FIGHT FOR WHAT'S THEIRS"
In a video recorded from her hospital bed afterward, Abascal said those words, and they quickly became a rallying cry. Within days, her case had turned into a symbol of a housing affordability crisis that has been building across Spain for years, driven by soaring rents, a shortage of protected housing and a wave of short-term tourist rentals squeezing long-term tenants out of city centers.
A Show of Force
Crowd estimates varied sharply: Spanish government authorities put Saturday's turnout at around 25,000, while organizers claimed as many as 300,000 people took part. Either figure would rank among the largest housing demonstrations Spain has seen in years. Marchers demanded stronger protections for tenants, tighter anti-fraud rules for landlords, and a ban on evictions that don't guarantee displaced residents alternative housing.
Protesters didn't disperse when the march ended. Demonstrators set up an overnight encampment in Puerta del Sol, the plaza that has become synonymous with Spanish protest movements dating back to the 2011 "Indignados" demonstrations, vowing to keep pressure on lawmakers.
What's Next
Spain's housing minister has faced growing calls to accelerate rent-control measures and expand public housing stock, but no new legislation has been announced since the protest. Abascal's case remains under appeal, and housing advocates say they expect more demonstrations if her eviction is not reversed or otherwise remedied by the courts.