Thousands to march in Madrid after death of evicted pensioner Maricarmen

Thousands of demonstrators are preparing to gather in central Madrid following the death of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old pensioner whose recent eviction sparked nationwide outrage over Spain's escalating housing crisis.

Abascal, widely known across the country as Maricarmen, died in a hospital on Wednesday night. Just two weeks earlier, she had been removed from the apartment where she had resided for seven decades. Her displacement followed the acquisition of the property by an investment company that attempted to raise her rent by 230%. Before she was ultimately forced out, campaigners and neighbours had helped her resist three previous removal efforts.

Her situation rapidly turned her into a national symbol of housing unaffordability. Her case ignited widespread demonstrations throughout Spain, prompted activists to erect an encampment in central Madrid, and led the socialist administration of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to introduce urgent housing legislation intended to regulate the rental sector. After conservative and far-right lawmakers rejected those emergency reforms, Sánchez called a snap general election scheduled for November 29.

Following the announcement of her death, mourners assembled on the pavement opposite Abascal's former residence, leaving candles, flowers, and handwritten tributes. The Madrid tenants' union organized a commemorative procession from an encampment at the Puerta del Sol square to her former residence to honor her memory.

The issue has quickly become a central battleground in the upcoming election campaign. Sánchez expressed his sympathies to Abascal's relatives and supporters, while his administration seeks alternative avenues to advance revised housing protections before voters head to the polls.

Opposition figures have responded critically to the administration's actions. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, head of the conservative People's Party, offered condolences but later argued that the government was exploiting public grief over a single case after failing to resolve housing challenges during its years in power. Additionally, conservative and far-right lawmakers moved to block official moments of silence for Abascal in Madrid's regional assembly and the national Senate, though local opposition members managed to hold an observance within Madrid's city council.

Representatives from the far-right Vox party and associated figures have also faced criticism after using the tragedy to target migrants and circulating unfounded claims online questioning the circumstances surrounding Abascal's death in the hospital. Meanwhile, housing advocates have stressed that her ordeal highlights a widespread problem, emphasizing that thousands of residents across Spain continue to face displacement each month amid soaring rental prices.