Overview
- The Madrid Tenants’ Union said Maricarmen Abascal, 87, died in hospital after being carried from her home on a stretcher; she had been treated for severe anxiety and exhaustion and no official cause of death has been released.
- Abascal’s forced removal on September 23 followed a court-backed eviction by an investment firm that sought a large rent increase on the flat she had lived in for decades.
- Footage of the eviction spurred long-running encampments in Puerta del Sol and nationwide demonstrations, and unions have announced a proposed general strike on November 11 to demand stronger tenant protections.
- Parliament recently rejected emergency decrees to curb evictions and limit rent pressures, a defeat that prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap election for November 29 and to seek temporary caretaker measures.
- The case has crystallised wider concerns — Spain faces a shortfall of roughly 700,000–750,000 homes and rising rents partly driven by investor purchases — intensifying public debate over regulation, supply and the human cost of the market.