Police evict 87-year-old Maricarmen from Madrid home after 71 years
Hundreds of protesters and celebrities failed to stop the removal of a pensioner whose rent was raised from €500 to €1,650 monthly.
What to know
- Maricarmen, 87, was evicted Wednesday from her Madrid home after an investment firm raised her rent beyond her pension; the case exposes the fragility of tenant protections under Spain's housing crisis.
- Hundreds of protesters, celebrities, and tenants' unions gathered overnight to block the eviction, but police deployed teargas and batons to execute the judicial order.
- An anonymous donor's offer to cover the rent difference was rejected by Urbagestión; the firm argued in court that a decades-old subletting arrangement was invalid.
- Spain's Housing Minister condemned the eviction as a product of unchecked speculation; Madrid rentals have risen over 100% in the past decade.
The dispute Whether individual sympathy for Maricarmen's case should be tempered by the reality that many Spanish renters are themselves struggling with identical housing crises and unaffordable rents. · positions read across 7 posts and comments
The eviction is driven by pure greed and landlord exploitation; investment firms prioritize profit over human welfare.
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“The world is a mess because of people like you. If you are struggling to understand there is no hope of discussing with you. I don't think there is an element of priviledge in this case. Only greed.”
TreadingThoughts · Reddit ↗
Sympathy for Maricarmen should not preclude solidarity with other struggling renters facing similar housing insecurity.
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“Me doy más pena yo, que con mi sueldo de mierda no me puedo permitir un piso sin ser compartido, que Maricarmen. [I feel more sorry for myself, because with my shitty salary I can't afford an apartment without sharing one, than for…”
Andy12_ · Reddit ↗
“There is a police deployment as if this were a military operation. This is the fourth time [they've tried to evict her] but the first time they've come right to the door of the property. It's completely disproportionate.”
Beatriz Duro, Maricarmen's lawyer · BBC News ↗
Maricarmen 87-year-old tenant evicted from Madrid flatUrbagestión SL Investment firm that owns the buildingTeresa Rodríguez Spain's Housing MinisterConfederation of Tenants' Unions Housing rights organisationMadrid Police Law enforcement
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlespostscomments
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1
Tenants' union calls case emblematic of landlord-driven housing crisis
Aldo Reverte, spokesperson for the Confederation of Tenants' Unions, frames Maricarmen's eviction as a symptom of housing being controlled by profit-seeking landlords and pledges continued resistance.
“Maricarmen's case is just one more example of what happens when housing is put in the hands of landlords. The difference is that a lot of people have become aware of her situation and the tenants' union has shown that we can fight this type of barbaric behaviour.”
— Aldo Reverte -
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The elderly women who could destroy the Spanish government. After being given just 30 minutes to leave with only essential belongings, 87 yesr old # MaricarmenAbascal was removed from the building on a stretcher, accompanied by social services officials and driven away in an ambulance. Ms, Abasscal was evicted from her Madrid home of more than…
2 more of the top 3 · 7 posts in this stretch
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Her father rented the flat in 1956,she continued,with a cap on the rent. #Urbagestión bought it in 2018& cited a legal glitch allowing it to raise her rent from €500to €2,650, then €1,650, she was unable to pay it with her monthly pension, €1,350. #madrid #housingcrisis
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The world is a mess because of people like you. If you are struggling to understand there is no hope of discussing with you. I don't think there is an element of priviledge in this case. Only greed.
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background
Housing Minister condemns eviction as result of speculation — Teresa Rodríguez, Spain's Housing Minister, decries the eviction as evidence of unbridled speculation and refusal to control the market.
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background
Hundreds gather overnight to block fourth eviction attempt; police use teargas — Protesters including tenants' unions, celebrities Carlos Bardem and Ana Belén, and hundreds of activists camp outside the building. An anonymous donor offers to pay most of Maricarmen's rent, but Urbagestión rejects the offer. Police fire teargas and make repeated baton charges to clear protesters and execute the eviction order.
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background
UN Committee calls for eviction halt and affordable housing offer — The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights urges Spain to stop the eviction and provide Maricarmen with affordable alternative accommodation. Local government offers her a place in an elderly care home, which she declines.
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background
Investment firm Urbagestión buys building; rent increased to €2,650 — Urbagestión cites a legal technicality to end the rent cap, raising Maricarmen's monthly rent from €500 to €2,650. The company later lowers the demand to €1,650, still far above her €1,350 monthly pension.
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background
Maricarmen becomes tenant after mother's death — Following her mother's death, Maricarmen becomes the tenant of the flat she had lived in since her father first rented it.
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Maricarmen's father rents flat in Madrid's Retiro district — The original rental contract begins, establishing a rent-controlled tenancy that would eventually pass to Maricarmen.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Straits Times, 16h ago · also RTE News, Deutsche Welle EN
2 more headlines
- Eviction of 87-year-old woman sparks Madrid protests RTE News · 12h ago
- Eviction of 87-year-old woman sparks housing protests in Madrid Deutsche Welle EN · 12h ago
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first by Mastodon, 17h ago · also Guardian
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first by BBC, 16h ago
1 more headline
and 1 smaller piece
What people are saying 4 voices from 1 site · best of 7 · verbatim
- Will Spain's government pass new tenant protection laws in response to Maricarmen's eviction?
- What happened to Maricarmen's personal belongings and where is she now?
- Yesterday
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So you can't sympathise and show solidarity for someone who has been wronged because you feel sorry for yourself?
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Me doy más pena yo, que con mi sueldo de mierda no me puedo permitir un piso sin ser compartido, que Maricarmen.
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Yeah, we also have a democracy where they can't pass laws by themselves and every law they propose can be voted out by the opposition
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These "people" are an investment company. It's very possible that even some of the people writing outraged comments right here are part of the investors.