Madrid memorial march planned after death of evicted tenant Maricarmen Abascal

María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old Madrid tenant known as Maricarmen, died in hospital on Wednesday, 7 October, two weeks after her eviction. A memorial march is planned in the Spanish capital on Thursday evening, drawing fresh attention to the housing dispute that made her a symbol of protests over rents and evictions.

The Guardian reported that thousands were expected to join the march. That is an estimate ahead of the event, rather than an attendance count. The Madrid Tenants’ Union announced a walk from the protest camp in Puerta del Sol to the building where Abascal had lived for about 70 years.

What is known about Maricarmen Abascal’s death

RTVE reported that Abascal died at Madrid’s Hospital Gregorio Marañón. She had been taken there immediately after being removed from her home in the Retiro district on 23 September, the broadcaster said. People close to her had said her health had deteriorated in recent months and had been especially fragile during her final two weeks.

The reports establish the sequence of eviction, hospitalisation and death. They do not establish a medical cause of death or determine whether the eviction caused it. Some campaigners have blamed the circumstances of her removal, but their statements are claims, rather than a medical finding.

How the Madrid eviction became a national housing issue

Abascal had lived in the flat since she was 17, RTVE reported. Its account said the property came under the ownership of Urbagestión in 2018 and that the company sought a much higher rent than she had previously paid. The Guardian put the proposed increase at 230%. The reports describe a prolonged struggle over whether she could remain in the home.

Three attempts to evict her had failed before the removal on 23 September, according to the Guardian. RTVE reported that hundreds gathered outside the building early that morning in an effort to stop it, but police carried out the eviction. The broadcaster said similar demonstrations followed in other parts of Spain, with protesters seeking protection for vulnerable tenants who had no alternative housing.

The Madrid Tenants’ Union, which had supported Abascal, said an agreement with the property owner would have allowed her to return home, RTVE reported. In a statement quoted by the broadcaster after her death, the union said the agreement had come “too late”. That return did not take place before she died.

Housing measures and the coming election

The protests also reached national politics. RTVE reported that the Spanish government brought forward two housing decrees after Abascal’s case drew attention, but Congress did not approve them last Friday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez then called a snap general election for 29 November. The rejection and the election announcement place housing at the centre of a dispute that now extends beyond one tenancy.

RTVE said the government approved the decrees again on Tuesday and hoped to secure support for at least one through the parliamentary standing committee that acts while parliament is dissolved. Its report did not establish that either measure had passed. For renters following the debate, the practical effect of those proposals therefore remains unsettled.

The Guardian reported that Sánchez offered condolences to Abascal’s family and friends. Campaigners at the Puerta del Sol camp said they would continue organising, according to RTVE. Thursday’s memorial is another occasion for supporters to mark her death and press their housing demands, while the eventual turnout and the outcome of the proposed measures remain to be seen.