Thousands of Spaniards marched through Madrid on October 8, 2026, following the death of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman whose eviction intensified protests over housing shortages and rising rents.
Demonstrators carried flowers from Puerta del Sol to her former home near Retiro Park.
Abascal died on Wednesday after being hospitalized with severe anxiety and exhaustion since her September 23 eviction, according to Reuters.
No cause of death was announced.
Her case followed a lengthy legal dispute over rent increases after an investment fund bought the building where she had lived for more than 70 years.
While hospitalized, she reached an agreement to regain her home but died before returning, Reuters reported.
At the Madrid march, protesters from the Tenants Union walked arm-in-arm in orange vests while carrying a wreath.
Several people facing eviction have died by suicide in Spain in recent months, according to Reuters.
"They're not deaths; they're murders," protesters chanted.
Housing Crisis Becomes Political Flashpoint
The demonstrations have also become a major political issue.
Housing protests after Abascal's eviction contributed to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calling a snap general election for November 29 after parliament rejected government proposals addressing the housing crisis, Reuters reported.
Conservative People's Party leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo accused Sanchez and the Socialists of exploiting the housing crisis ahead of the election.
"We will not allow this attempt to manipulate the emotions of the Spanish people; all of this has happened during their eight years in government.
It won't fly," Feijoo said.
Left-leaning lawmakers in Madrid blamed conservative opponents for rejecting measures intended to curb rising rents.
Right-wing politicians countered that the central government had failed to resolve the crisis after eight years in power, according to Reuters.
Mas Madrid opposition leader Manuela Bergerot said Abascal's death reflected a housing system that placed financial interests above residents.
She also criticized Madrid regional leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso over comments made after Abascal's eviction.
"Maricarmen had died because of miserable people who put gain above a person's life," Bergerot said.
Bergerot said Ayuso's last action involving Abascal while she was alive was to mock her.
Ayuso had made the remark on September 28, according to Reuters.
"At what age do I get to stop paying my landlords? Let me know," Ayuso said.
Ayuso blamed Sanchez's government for the eviction, while tributes to Abascal in Madrid's legislature triggered further disputes between lawmakers.
The People's Party refused to hold a minute of silence for her, Reuters reported.
Outside Madrid City Hall, hard-left deputies held their own minute of silence and gave Abascal a 60-second standing ovation during a tense regional assembly debate.
People's Party lawmakers remained seated.
Mourners left flowers, candles, handwritten notes and children's drawings outside Abascal's former building.
At Puerta del Sol, protesters also displayed a placard reading, "When everything is private, we will be deprived of everything."
Alex Marinero, a 21-year-old protester, described Abascal's case as a rallying point for the movement.
"Maricarmen was the straw that broke the camel's back... (she was) a symbol of resistance and unity," Marinero said.
A June survey published by Spain's state pollster CIS on October 8 found that 76.3% of Spaniards supported market intervention to guarantee access to housing, while 79% said the right to housing should take precedence over treating homes as a market commodity.
Ombudsman Angel Gabilondo said all levels of government would need to commit more strongly to addressing the housing crisis.
His office was preparing a housing report covering measures including expanded public housing, restrictions on tourist rentals, greater rent assistance and stronger protections for vulnerable households facing eviction.
