The death of an 87-year-old Madrid resident following her eviction from the home she had occupied for 70 years has deepened Spain’s housing crisis and fueled nationwide protests that helped push the country toward an early election.
María del Carmen Abascal, affectionately known as “Maricarmen,” died Wednesday after being hospitalized in the aftermath of her removal from the apartment where she had spent most of her life, The Associated Press reported.
Her death followed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to call a snap election for Nov. 29. The move came after his government was unable to secure parliamentary approval for urgent housing legislation.
The case has placed fresh scrutiny on Sánchez’s Socialist Party as tenants and housing advocates across Spain voice growing anger over rapidly increasing rents and the lack of affordable homes.
People gathered in central Madrid, Spain, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, to remember Maria del Carmen Abascal, 87, whose eviction became a flashpoint for nationwide housing protests. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Public outrage began after Abascal was evicted on Sept. 23. Photographs showed the wheelchair user being carried out of the apartment on a stretcher, images that quickly spread across Spain.
Police blocked off the street during the operation and removed protesters who tried to prevent officials from carrying out the eviction.
The scenes prompted rallies in Madrid and cities throughout the country, transforming Abascal into a powerful symbol of Spain’s worsening housing affordability crisis.
According to the AP, the real estate company behind the eviction planned to rent the apartment again at a considerably higher rate.
A sign reading “Rest in peace, Maricarmen” hangs near the entrance to the Madrid apartment from which Maria del Carmen Abascal, 87, was evicted, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Amid the public backlash, the company eventually said Abascal could return to the apartment. She died before she was able to go home.
Officials have not released her cause of death.
Following the announcement, mourners and protesters assembled outside Parliament and at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol. Some stood in silence for a minute in her memory.
The crowd also repeated the slogan, “Maricarmen lives, the fight goes on!”
On Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, a woman leaves flowers near the entrance of the Madrid building where Maria del Carmen Abascal was evicted, an incident that sparked protests across Spain. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Sánchez shared his condolences in a message posted on X.
“All my love to Maricarmen’s family and loved ones,” he wrote. “A hug as well to all of us who feel this loss as our own today. Rest in peace.”
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the conservative opposition leader, also mourned Abascal while cautioning politicians against turning her death into a campaign issue.
“No campaign, no party, no use for political advantage,” Feijóo wrote. “When faced with the death of a person, we must only show respect.”
As Spain heads toward its November election, Abascal’s eviction and death have become a central rallying point for housing activists seeking stronger tenant protections and major changes to the country’s rental policies.
