An 87-year-old woman who was carried out of her longtime home on a stretcher during a controversial eviction in Spain has died, just weeks after heartbreaking images of her removal sparked nationwide protests and a political crisis.
María del Carmen Abascal, affectionately known as “Maricarmen,” died Wednesday, October 7, at a hospital in Madrid. She had spent more than seven decades living in the same apartment, a place filled with family memories that she had desperately fought to keep.
Her death came just two weeks after authorities removed her from the property on September 23, despite protests from housing activists who gathered outside in an attempt to stop the eviction.
The elderly woman, who relied on a wheelchair and was in fragile health, was carried from her apartment on a stretcher as police blocked off the surrounding street and cleared demonstrators from the area.
Footage of the eviction quickly spread across Spain, provoking outrage among residents already frustrated by soaring rents and a growing shortage of affordable housing.
For Abascal, however, the apartment was far more than a place to live. It was the home where she had grown up with her parents and brother, where she had spent nearly her entire adult life, and where both of her parents had died.
According to Spanish newspaper El País, Abascal worked for 34 years as a secretary at a pharmaceutical company before retiring in 1998. She spent much of her retirement enjoying her familiar neighborhood, running errands and caring for the belongings and family keepsakes accumulated over a lifetime.
Among the few possessions she reportedly took with her to the hospital were black-and-white family photographs, reminders of the life she had built inside the apartment.
Her fight to remain there began years before the eviction attracted international attention.
In 2020, a real estate investment company purchased the property while Abascal was still living there under an older rental arrangement. A lengthy legal dispute followed as the new owners sought to regain possession of the apartment and rent it at a substantially higher price.
Housing advocates argued that her situation illustrated the growing vulnerability of elderly tenants who have spent decades in their homes but cannot afford today’s rental prices.
When authorities finally carried out the eviction on September 23, Abascal was taken to a hospital because of concerns about her health.
Images of the elderly woman being removed on a stretcher struck a nerve across the country. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Madrid and other Spanish cities, demanding stronger protections for renters and an end to evictions involving vulnerable residents.
As public pressure mounted, the real estate company eventually agreed to allow Abascal to return to her apartment.
It appeared that the elderly woman might finally be able to go home after years of uncertainty, but the agreement came too late.
She died before she could return.
Her attorney, Beatriz Duro, confirmed the death to Spanish radio station Cadena SER but did not disclose its cause. Although housing activists have raised concerns about the impact of the eviction on Abascal’s health, authorities have not established that the eviction caused her death.
The Madrid Tenants’ Union, which had supported her campaign to remain in the apartment, said the agreement allowing her to return had arrived too late to help her.
The organization described what happened as an avoidable ordeal and renewed its demands for stronger housing protections.
News of Abascal’s death prompted another wave of demonstrations, with mourners gathering outside Spain’s Parliament and in Madrid’s historic Puerta del Sol square.
Some protesters carried photographs of the elderly woman, while others placed flowers, candles and handwritten messages near the entrance to her former home.
During one gathering, demonstrators observed a moment of silence before chanting, “Maricarmen lives, the fight goes on!”
Her story has become a powerful symbol of a housing affordability crisis affecting millions of people across Spain.
According to data from Spanish real estate website Idealista, average rental prices across the country have nearly doubled over the past decade, placing increasing pressure on families, retirees and younger workers.
Government figures also show that approximately 27% of households renting at market prices spent more than 40% of their income on housing in 2025, significantly above the European Union average.
The affordability problem has been especially severe in major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, where demand for housing has outpaced the supply of available apartments.
Analysts have pointed to several contributing factors, including slow construction, complicated development regulations, investment activity and the growth of short-term vacation rentals.
For older residents living on fixed incomes, finding another affordable apartment can be particularly difficult, especially after decades in neighborhoods where property values have increased dramatically.
The anger surrounding Abascal’s eviction has also become a major political issue ahead of Spain’s November 29 general election.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the early election on October 5 after his Socialist-led government failed to secure parliamentary approval for emergency housing legislation.
The proposed measures included restrictions on rent increases, additional tenant protections and limits on certain purchases of residential property by large investors.
Sánchez has argued that stronger government intervention is necessary to protect vulnerable renters and address housing speculation. Conservative opponents have challenged his approach, favoring policies that would encourage construction, reduce development obstacles and increase the number of available homes.
With housing affordability now dominating the national debate, Abascal’s death has added urgency to calls for action.
Major Spanish labor unions have also announced plans for a general strike in November as pressure mounts on political leaders to address the crisis.
Following news of her passing, Sánchez offered condolences to Abascal’s family and supporters in a message posted on X.
“All my love to Maricarmen’s family and loved ones,” he wrote. “A hug as well to all of us who feel this loss as our own today. Rest in peace.”
Conservative opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo also expressed sympathy, urging politicians not to turn the woman’s death into a campaign weapon.
“No campaign, no party, no use for political advantage,” he wrote. “When faced with the death of a person, we must only show respect.”
While political leaders debate how to solve Spain’s housing problems, Abascal’s story has become a deeply personal reminder of what is at stake for longtime renters.
For more than 70 years, her modest Madrid apartment had been the center of her world. She had watched her neighborhood change, experienced the loss of loved ones and spent her retirement surrounded by the memories of a lifetime.
Even after the eviction, she had hoped to return to the familiar rooms she called home.
Instead, she spent her final days in a hospital, never getting the chance to move back into the apartment she had fought so hard to keep.
Now, as Spain prepares for an election that could reshape its housing policies, the elderly woman’s name has become a rallying cry for protesters determined to prevent other families from experiencing a similar ordeal.
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