Protests Erupt in Madrid Over Housing Crisis

MADRID (AP) – In response to the eviction of an 87-year-old woman, protesters camped overnight in Madrid’s historic Puerta del Sol plaza. On Sunday, more demonstrators, including families of multiple generations, joined in for a second day of protests focused on Spain’s housing crisis.

On Saturday, tens of thousands marched through Madrid, expressing their outrage over the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal from her apartment in the affluent Retiro neighborhood, where she had lived for over seventy years.

The protesters are calling for stronger protections for tenants, measures to combat housing fraud, and a halt to evictions when alternative housing isn’t available.

Many demonstrators chose to stay after Saturday’s march, setting up tents in Puerta del Sol for the night. “The housing situation is unsustainable,” remarked Natalia Navarro, a 27-year-old actress who was among those camping out. “We’re all on the street because we’re fed up.”

Alicia del Río, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, emphasized that “the wave of indignation and anger that has been unleashed is now unstoppable.”

She stated they would remain in the plaza until the government enacts new laws, including indefinite rental contracts, and puts an end to evictions like that of Abascal. The Socialist-led government is expected to announce new measures in their weekly cabinet meeting this coming Tuesday.

On September 23, Abascal was taken from her apartment on a stretcher and placed into an ambulance as supporters, who had tried unsuccessfully to prevent the eviction, chanted her nickname, “Maricarmen.”

From her hospital bed, Abascal shared, “I may not have defended my home successfully, but I’ve fought so others can learn to stand up for what belongs to them.”

Images of her eviction spread across Spain, leading to widespread outrage and criticism of public authorities and real estate investment companies, which many accuse of pricing residents out of their homes. Such companies are often referred to as “vulture funds.”

During a Socialist Party rally in Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed Abascal directly, stating, “I have a message for you, Maricarmen: the government is diligently working on a Royal Decree regarding housing that will be presented next Tuesday. I urge parliamentary groups to finalize it for Maricarmen.”

Abascal expressed her discontent with Sánchez, attributing her struggles to his inaction. “Does he not recognize how many evictions happen daily?” she questioned in an interview with Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE the day before her eviction. “Is he unaware, or does he simply not want to see it?”

According to Spanish media, Abascal’s father first rented the apartment in 1956, and she continued to live there under rent control after her parents’ passing. Following a change in ownership in 2018, Abascal was offered a chance to buy the apartment but was unable to afford it, as reported by the Madrid Tenants’ Union.

The investment fund Urbagestión, which later acquired the property, significantly raised her monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros, later reducing it to 1,650 euros, still beyond what she could pay on her pension, the union explained.

Many Spaniards are being priced out of the housing market amid rising costs and a shortage of available homes, despite substantial economic growth in Spain, the fourth-largest economy in Europe. Incomes haven’t kept up with skyrocketing housing prices, further compounded by population increases driven by tourism and immigration creating more demand for limited housing.

The Bank of Spain estimated a shortage of around 550,000 homes last year, with cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia accounting for a large portion of that deficit.

The protests at the iconic Madrid plaza reminded many of the significant demonstrations that began on May 15, 2011, when members of the “indignados movement” camped out for 28 days, triggering similar sit-ins both nationally and globally. That initial movement arose in response to evictions and other crises stemming from the global economic downturn, including unemployment and austerity measures.

Political scientist and columnist Estefania Molina noted that the stakes of public frustration are rising. “In 2011, people protested because they couldn’t buy an apartment. Today, the issue is about not being able to rent a room in someone else’s home,” she explained on Spanish television.

Spain ranks low among OECD countries for publicly subsidized rental housing, accounting for less than 2% of the nation’s housing stock, significantly below the European Union average of 8%.