87-year-old Maricarmen, symbol of Spain's housing crisis, dies in hospital after eviction
María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman who became the face of Spain's housing affordability crisis after her eviction triggered mass protests, died Wednesday while receiving hospital care. Her passing has galvanized anger across Spain, where approximately 80 evictions occur daily and renters now dedicate half their income to housing costs.
Known as Maricarmen, the wheelchair-bound woman was carried from her Madrid home of seven decades on September 23 by police who had cordoned off her street to remove protesters. Televised images of the eviction prompted thousands to demonstrate in cities across the country.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez led political figures offering condolences on social media.
All my love to Maricarmen's family and loved ones. A hug as well to all of us who feel this loss as our own today.
Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, confirmed the death to Cadena Ser radio without disclosing the cause.
Maricarmen's case, which captured media attention and traveled around the world, leaves us the shameful image of the violence of these types of evictions and the impact they can have on people's health.
A crisis rooted in structural failures
Maricarmen's eviction exposed deep fractures in Spain's housing system. An international investment fund purchased her building and raised her rent by more than 200 percent to approximately $1,880 monthly, aiming to convert the property into lucrative tourist apartments. She was unable to afford the increase on her retirement income.
The case resonated because it exemplified broader trends squeezing Spanish renters. In 2025, the average Spanish renter spent 50 percent of gross salary on housing, up from 38 percent in 2019. In Madrid, where Maricarmen lived, that figure reached 71 percent. Over 300,000 housing units across Spain have been converted to short-term tourist rentals rather than residential leasing, a factor Spain's housing minister has acknowledged significantly impacts prices.
Spain's social housing stock comprises less than 2 percent of total housing according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, among the lowest rates in the European Union. Madrid has approximately 9,200 social housing units for its 3.4 million residents, compared to 260,570 units in Paris, which has 2.1 million people, and around 100,000 in Berlin, which has a comparable population to Madrid.
Political fallout and historic strike
The real estate company eventually agreed under public pressure to allow Maricarmen to return home, but the solution came too late.
It was an entirely avoidable situation following a harrowing ordeal,the Madrid Tenants' Union said Wednesday.
Her plight intensified pressure on Sánchez's government, which had attempted to push emergency housing measures through Parliament. When those measures failed last week, Sánchez called early elections for November 29. Spain's major unions announced a general strike for November 11, marking the first time in 14 years that the country's two largest unions have jointly backed such action, recalling the European-wide general strike during the 2012 financial crisis.
Following the parliamentary defeat on October 2, Sánchez re-approved housing protection decrees on October 6 with enhanced measures, including provisions requiring local authorities to cover tenant debts within two months or assume the debts themselves, blocking evictions until alternative housing is secured.
Protesters gathered in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square held a minute of silence after learning of her death.
Maricarmen only wanted to die in her home. They have killed her. I mean, there's no other word for it,said Eugenio Melchor, 22, at the demonstration.
Maricarmen spent nearly her entire life in the apartment where she first lived with her parents and brother. She worked as a secretary for a pharmaceutical company board before retiring in 1998. Both her parents died in the apartment. Black-and-white family photographs were among the few possessions she brought to the hospital.
Conservative opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who hopes to unseat Sánchez in the upcoming election, also expressed condolences.
When faced with the death of a person, we must only show respect,the Popular Party leader wrote.
Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez wrote on X:
I deeply lament the death of Maricarmen. My condolences to those who accompanied her and fought by her side until the end.
At the protest in Madrid, psychologist Iciar López, 32, expressed the prevailing sentiment among demonstrators.
A great deal of sorrow. And above all, the thought that she is the cause, the head of this whole revolution that has happened, and that she can't see it. That's what angers me the most, honestly.
