María del Carmen Abascal, symbol of Spain’s housing protests, dies aged 87
María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman whose forced eviction from her long-term home sparked nationwide protests in Spain, has died. Her case became a rallying point for activists fighting against the country's housing crisis and rising rent costs.
Why it matters
The death of a symbolic figure in the housing movement highlights the ongoing social tension regarding housing affordability and tenant rights in Europe.
Maricarmen in Madrid in October 2025. Photograph: Europa Press News/Europa Press/Getty Images Maricarmen in Madrid in October 2025. Photograph: Europa Press News/Europa Press/Getty Images Spain María del Carmen Abascal, symbol of Spain’s housing protests, dies aged 87 Maricarmen’s eviction from Madrid apartment after over seven decades set off wave of protests against housing crisis
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Prefer the Guardian on Google María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old whose eviction set off a nationwide wave of protests against Spain’s housing crisis, has died.
News of her death came two weeks after Maricarmen, as she had come to be known across Spain, was evicted from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for more than seven decades.
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