Maricarmen, symbol of Spain's housing protests, dies

Published on 07/10/2026 - 20:47 GMT+2

Maricarmen Abascal, whose resistance to eviction from her flat in Madrid sparked a growing nationwide protest has died. Her plight brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets and ultimately brought forward a general election after mass demonstrations across the country.

The elderly woman, who lived in Madrid’s Retiro district, had been admitted to this hospital after failing to halt a fourth attempt to evict her, but she had managed to force the property fund that expelled her from her home to back down and allow her to return, following an agreement with the authorities.

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