In Spain, 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal — Maricarmen — who became a nationwide symbol of the protest movement against the recent housing crisis, has died. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The news was reported by the newspaper El Mundo. The pensioner passed away shortly after she was forcibly evicted on a stretcher from her apartment in the prestigious Madrid district of Retiro in late September 2026.
Life and housing history
Maricarmen had lived in this building since 1956 (since the age of 17). Initially, the housing was rented by her father, and after the death of her parents, the contract passed to her.
As foreign media report, in 2018 the building was bought by an investment company, which subsequently raised the rent to 2,500 euros per month. For the pensioner, this sum was unaffordable, which led to a years-long legal battle.
In total, over the past 10 years, the woman survived 4 eviction attempts. On September 23, 2026, despite protests by activists, police forcibly removed the woman from the apartment on a stretcher, after which she was hospitalized.
Wave of protests
Against this backdrop, a large demonstration took place in Madrid on September 26. Participants in the rally also demanded the adoption of effective measures to curb the housing crisis. Following the rally, hundreds of people set up a tent camp on the central square of the capital.
It then became known that Abascal could return to her home after reaching an agreement with the company that owns it.
However, she did not manage to return there. While in the hospital, in her last video address to activists, the pensioner urged: "Fight!"
Following Madrid, similar actions were organized in other cities of the country.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that mass protests and clashes with police broke out across Spain due to the severe housing crisis. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of more than 50 cities.