Police confront protesters in Madrid after eviction of 87-year-old tenant
Around 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Madrid to protest the court-ordered eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who had lived in the same flat since 1956, leading to clashes with police.
Police used force to disperse demonstrators in Madrid on Thursday after a court-ordered eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, from a flat she had occupied since 1956. The eviction, carried out after three previous attempts, was enforced by officers who removed protesters from the building and escorted the elderly woman to an ambulance for transport.
The demonstration, organized by the Madrid Tenants' Union through social media, attracted roughly 10,000 participants, according to the regional government delegation. Protesters blocked the street outside a penthouse owned by the regional government’s public company Planifica Madrid and chanted slogans such as “We are all Maricarmen” and “Ayuso, resign.”
Tenants’ groups in other Spanish cities, including Barcelona, Seville and Valencia, also staged protests, calling for measures to halt evictions and address the broader housing crisis.
Maricarmen’s tenancy originated from a regulated lease signed by her parents in 1956. After the property changed hands in 2018, the new owner, Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversión, argued that the succession was invalid and sought to terminate the lease. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the owners in March, overturning an earlier decision that had supported Maricarmen.
Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, reported that the company refused to grant additional time for Maricarmen to remove her belongings, despite her limited pension and disability. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had previously urged Spain to halt the eviction, but the request did not alter the outcome.
In the national parliament, Socialist spokesperson Patxi López placed responsibility for housing on the Madrid City Council and the regional government, noting that the owners had declined offers to purchase the flat. Madrid’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, said the city had proposed several housing options to Maricarmen, which she declined, and that she ultimately chose to stay with relatives after the eviction.