Maricarmen Abascal is a determined woman who uses a wheelchair to get around. She has needed her determination over the years she has spent fighting the real estate company that forced her out of her Madrid apartment last week. She had lived in the flat for more than 70 of her 87 years.
Police forced their way into her apartment after a judge approved Abascal’s eviction. By then, protesters had gathered around the building, including the actor Carlos Bardem, Javier’s brother. Teargas was used against them.
Abascal was taken to a Madrid hospital, suffering from anxiety and extreme exhaustion, while her supporters chanted: “You are not alone.” Demonstrations of solidarity with her and “all the other Maricarmens” have since erupted across Spain, with protest encampments springing up at Puerta del Sol square in Madrid as well as in Bilbao and Málaga. Thousands of people are evicted from their homes in Spain every year. In the first quarter of 2026 alone there were, on average, 44 eviction orders a day, mostly for disputes about rent.
Behind those figures, cases involving single mothers and elderly tenants often come to light. But no eviction has sparked such a public outcry, a national protest movement and a call for urgent political action like the tale of Abascal. Evictions are actually in decline in Spain and are now about a third of what they were in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
In 2014, there were more than 68,000 evictions compared with about 24,000 in 2025. Spain is one of the fastest-growing economies in the west. Employment and consumer data continue to defy the odds despite global economic uncertainty.
But many young people and poorer older people surviving on pensions struggle to pay rent or buy a home, especially in the most prosperous cities. In Abascal’s case, the real estate company Urbagestión bought her apartment in 2018, ending her rent-controlled arrangement. Her rent was initially increased from €500 a month to €2,650, way beyond what her pension could cover.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
