Spain: Maricarmen Abascal, the elderly woman who led the protests over the housing crisis, has died
She had been hospitalized at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid since September 23. Her case sparked demonstrations and brought the housing crisis to the forefront of the Spanish political debate.
Image of Maricarmen
Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman who was evicted on September 23 from the home where she had lived for more than seven decades in Madrid, died this Wednesday after spending fifteen days in the hospital.
Abascal had been hospitalized at Gregorio Marañón Hospital since the day of her eviction in Madrid's Retiro district.
The housing crisis and the story of the 87-year-old woman
Her case sparked a strong mobilization by far-left groups, which included protests and a sit-in at Madrid's Puerta del Sol, and ultimately became one of the symbols of the severe housing crisis plaguing Spain, a country that has been governed by the left for the past eight years.
The case helped place housing at the center of the debate ahead of the early elections, called by a Pedro Sánchez beset by corruption—who, in fact, called for the election after seeing the Congress of Deputies reject his latest housing measures, which he has nevertheless promised to push through using a maneuver that the opposition claims is a veritable fraud against the law, as it overrides the will expressed by the legislature in that vote.
Maricarmen had been living in the apartment for about 70 years under an old lease inherited from her parents that had already expired. Following the eviction, negotiations began to find a solution that would allow her to return to the apartment.
The Madrid City Council initially rejected a proposal from the property owner, Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversión, on the grounds that the proposed conditions did not meet the legal requirements of municipal housing programs. Subsequently, an agreement was reached that would have allowed Abascal to return to his former home, although she died before the move could take place.
The far-left organization Sindicato de Inquilinas, which had been stirring up the protests, mourned Abascal's death on Wednesday and stated that the agreement with the legitimate owners of the home came "too late."
LATEST
