Maricarmen Abascal dies at 87 after becoming a symbol of the fight against evictions

MadridTwo weeks after being evicted and having become a symbol of the fight for housing, Maricarmen Abascal passed away this Wednesday in Madrid, as communicated by the Tenants' Union. This resident of the Madrid district of Retiro, 87 years old, had been admitted to the Gregorio Marañón hospital in the Spanish capital since the day of the eviction, September 23, and had not yet been able to return to her home despite the "historic agreement" that allowed it, signed between the investment fund that owns her apartment and Maricarmen's representatives and family as a result of social pressure. "An absolutely avoidable situation after a torturous process," lamented the organization that led the wave of mobilizations throughout the State that her case has generated. The decree that the PP, Vox, and Junts struck down in Congress last Friday with anti-eviction measures, in fact, was informally christened with her name, and it was this parliamentary defeat that ended up leading to Pedro Sánchez's decision to call early elections.

In a statement, the Tenants' Union of Madrid remarked that, although the reaction to Maricarmen's eviction has meant a "before and after" in mobilization and has managed to put "the housing debate at the center," "the cost to reach this point has been too high." The movements for the right to housing have long warned of how the housing problem hits the health and physical integrity of people facing eviction processes. This same month of September, without going any further, organizations in Catalonia reported the suicide of Olga, a 54-year-old woman, a resident of the Santa Eulàlia neighborhood of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, five months after she was evicted.

In Maricarmen's case, the mobilization generated by her situation had led Urbagestión, the investment fund that owns the apartment, to agree to let her return to the home from which she was evicted. The rectification "has arrived too late," lamented the Tenants' Union. "We will continue fighting for you, for everyone, as you always wanted," they stressed. Maricarmen's death did not take long to provoke reactions at the highest political level. "All my affection to Maricarmen's family and loved ones. A hug also to all of us who today feel this loss as our own. Rest in peace," said the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, on X.

The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has also shown himself to be "shocked" by the death on the same social network. "No one can remain indifferent. Politics cannot allow any inhumanity. We will continue fighting to ensure it does not happen again," added the PSC leader. Other progressive leaders have also lamented the death of Maricarmen, such as the ERC spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, or the Minister of Health and leader of Més Madrid, Mónica García. "Your fight awakened consciences all over Spain and ignited a flame that will no longer be extinguished," said García. The death of Maricarmen has an impact in the middle of the start of the November 29th pre-campaign and has just coincided with the announcement of the date for the general strike on housing.

Eviction from the family home

The home from which Maricarmen was evicted was the family home. She moved into the apartment with her parents when she was very young. Her father signed the lease agreement in 1956. When he died, the contract was subrogated to his wife and Maricarmen's mother, who continued living in the apartment with her daughter until she died in 2005. Since then, she lived there alone and had an old rent agreement. The first eviction order arrived seven years ago.

In 2018, the family that owned the building sold the entire property to Renta Corporación, one of the largest real estate groups in the country. At that time, they proposed that Maricarmen buy the apartment, but she could not afford the price they were demanding. It is at this moment that the investment fund Urbagestión appears and the problems begin. They demanded rent increases that she could not afford until the eviction orders arrived. On the fourth attempt, Maricarmen was evicted.