Retired Woman Whose Eviction Sparked Protests in Spain Passes Away
Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her Madrid home sparked nationwide protests and a political crisis that triggered early elections, has passed away.
In Spain, 87-year-old pensioner Maricarmen Abascal, who was evicted from the home she had lived in for over 70 years due to a steep rent increase, has passed away in the hospital.
Eviction Process and Hospitalization
After her landlord, Urbagestión, increased the monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros for her home in Madrid, 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was unable to afford the increase.
The elderly woman, who was already in a fragile state of health, was forcibly removed from her home on a stretcher on September 23 and subsequently taken to the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid.
Social Reactions and Political Impacts
Abascal's eviction sparked widespread nationwide protests regarding Spain's housing crisis, leading thousands of people to camp out in Puerta del Sol square.
These developments, combined with the failure of the minority government's emergency housing decrees in Congress, led Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call early elections for November 29.