Stories
Spain Marches for Maricarmen After Eviction Triggers Snap Polls
- •Over 20,000 people marched through central Madrid in memory of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who died weeks after being evicted.
- •Abascal's apartment was bought by an investment firm that attempted to raise her rent by 230 per cent, turning her into the face of Spain's housing crisis.
- •Her tragic eviction sparked nationwide protests and led the government to propose emergency housing measures, which were eventually voted down.
- •The rejection of the housing measures prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap general election for 29 November.
- •Political leaders from across the spectrum offered their condolences as housing becomes a central issue in the upcoming election.
Key Questions Answered
The snap general election was called after right-wing and far-right parties voted down the government's emergency housing measures in parliament. These measures had been proposed following public outrage over the eviction and subsequent death of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal (known as Maricarmen), whose rent an investment firm had sought to raise by 230 per cent.
The snap general election called by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to be held on 29 November.
María del Carmen Abascal, affectionately known as Maricarmen, was an 87-year-old disabled pensioner who lived in her Madrid flat for over seven decades before being evicted when an investment firm bought the property and drastically raised her rent. Her high-profile eviction and subsequent death just a fortnight later sparked mass demonstrations across Spain and turned the housing crisis into a central political issue.
