Ayuso, regarding the Maricarmen case: "For every eviction in Madrid, there are five in Catalonia"

MadridThe eviction of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old neighbor from Madrid who uses a wheelchair, has sparked controversy across the country. The case has become symbolic due to her vulnerability, and the protests, which gathered in front of her building this Wednesday to try to prevent her from being forced out of her home, have had political repercussions. In general, administrations and parties have been passing the buck to one another, pointing fingers at who is responsible. The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, for example, pointed directly at the Madrid president for being more concerned "with buying luxury penthouses". This Thursday, Isabel Díaz Ayuso responded, making it clear that she does not believe Maricarmen's case is an extraordinary one: "It is one of the 25,000 [evictions] that occur every year".

"They are trying to dehumanize and harass us," Ayuso criticized in a speech before the Circle of Businessmen. In fact, she did not hesitate to speak about Catalonia again to point out that, even though she is being criticized, "for every eviction that occurs in Madrid, there are five in Catalonia." According to data from the Judiciary, indeed, in 2025 there were 25,540 "launches" [evictions], of which 6,814 were in Catalonia (26.7%). In the Community of Madrid, there were 2,267 (8.9%), that is, three times fewer. However, Madrid has one million fewer inhabitants than Catalonia and an 8% higher average net income per household, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE).

"Yesterday we saw a shocking event: how an 87-year-old person was evicted, without compassion. The blindness, the greed for money, which tramples on an 87-year-old person. This is not the model of society we want. We, the institutions, are here to combat this, at least the Catalan ones," reacted the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, this Thursday. Earlier, on Catalunya Ràdio, his spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, had done the same, accusing Ayuso of "lying" and reminding her that in the last quarter in Catalonia 43 evictions have been stopped, while in Madrid only 7. "She is generating fake news to hide her own shames," the minister snapped.

The right to housing

Last June, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing, Koldo Casla, had already spoken out about the eviction of Maricarmen Ara, and has done so again, 24 hours after the execution of the eviction order, putting Spanish law in the spotlight: "The case highlights that currently Spanish legislation does not guarantee an individualized proportionality analysis," he denounces. "It is incomprehensible that the profitability of a real estate investment takes precedence over the right to housing of an 87-year-old woman who receives a 1,300-euro pension and has lived in a house for 70 years," Casla added in a brief statement to the media.

The UN Rapporteur recalls that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had already requested precautionary measures to temporarily suspend Maricarmen's eviction. "The judge should have done so to avoid irreparable harm [...] Procedural legislation requires an amendment," points out Casla, who recalls that until there is a "viable and fair" housing alternative provided by the City Council or the corresponding Autonomous Community, "any eviction that could leave someone on the street should be stopped." The Ombudsman has also demanded "urgent measures" from the administrations and public authorities to avoid the evictions of vulnerable people.

Sumar demands the expropriation of the apartment

Meanwhile, Sumar, the minority partner in the Spanish government, is once again pressuring the PSOE to approve immediately—at next week's council of ministers—a housing decree that includes a moratorium on evictions for vulnerable people and puts a stop to situations like the one experienced this Tuesday in Madrid, but also in other parts of the State. In fact, the housing decree was already supposed to be approved before the summer, but due to a lack of support in Congress, the government left it for September. Pedro Sánchez's executive must negotiate with his investiture partners, especially with Junts (which rejected the last decree that included anti-eviction measures), if he wants the regulation to move forward. Junts sources explain that there are negotiations underway and that two weeks ago a document with the specific measures they would be willing to approve was delivered by hand to Pedro Sánchez.

Urgently, Sumar is demanding that Maricarmen's apartment be expropriated from the current owner, the investment fund Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversión S.L., and is also calling for a package of measures to freeze rents, as stated by the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, the head of Childhood, Sira Rego, and the Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, through social media.

This was the fourth eviction attempt that Maricarmen had faced. The investment fund proposed a rent increase to 1,650 euros, which the resident of the Madrid neighborhood of Retiro could not afford: she has a pension of 1,350 euros and until now was paying 500 in rent, because she had an old rent contract. Despite attempts at negotiation, the fund had dug its heels in and rejected any agreement, even that of an anonymous person who wanted to cover the rent. For the moment, the resident has spent the night in a hospital and the Madrid City Council has assured that it has an "emergency place" for her in a residence. The investment fund has filed a lawsuit against the Tenants' Union for violation of the right to honor, among others, because they have labeled it as "a vulture fund." The union, from which they are demanding 10,000 euros, has already said that it has no intention of retracting.