Spain Eviction-Crisis Figure Maricarmen Abascal Dies

Maricarmen Abascal, 87, died in a Madrid hospital about two weeks after her September 23 eviction from the apartment where she had lived for roughly 70 years. A real estate firm had sought to raise her rent from about €500 to €1,600 a month, and images of her being carried away on a stretcher during a police operation made the eviction a rallying point in Spain’s housing crisis. The owner later offered her a new rental contract to return, but the Madrid Tenants’ Union said the offer came too late. Her death prompted vigils, demonstrations and condolences from political leaders; although some blamed the stress of the eviction, no cause of death or established link to the eviction was reported. The protests intensified debate over housing policy ahead of the November 29 election, which Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called after housing measures were rejected in parliament.