Maricarmen Abascal, whose resistance to eviction from her flat in Madrid sparked a growing nationwide protest has died. Her plight brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets and ultimately brought forward a general election after mass demonstrations across the country.
The elderly woman, who had lived in her flat in Madrid’s Retiro district for 70 years, was eventually evicted at the fourth attempt under the gaze of the media, after she was unable to pay the increased rent. She was admitted to hospital, but she managed to force the property fund that expelled her from her home to back down and allow her to return, following an agreement with the authorities.
