Maricarmen, 87, was evicted from her Madrid apartment on September 23, 2026, after living there for more than seventy years. She was carried out on a stretcher and taken to hospital, information from Reuters and other major outlets. The eviction sparked outrage, but Esperanza Aguirre, former president of the Community of Madrid, says the case is a smokescreen for the crisis in Ceuta and Melilla.
“This thing with Maricarmen is a smokescreen, as I already told you, and 15-M was another smokescreen,” Aguirre told El Confidencial. She claims the government is using Maricarmen’s story to distract the public. In Aguirre’s view, the real threat is the crisis in Ceuta and Melilla. She warns that Spain’s sovereignty is at risk.
Aguirre is blunt. She says the government is “decided to let the Moroccans keep Ceuta and Melilla.” She argues that losing these territories would set a dangerous precedent. “Once we have lost sovereignty in Ceuta and Melilla, how are we going to deny it to Catalonia or the Basque Country?” Aguirre asks. For her, Spain’s future is at stake.
The government is preparing a new housing decree, which the Council of Ministers will discuss on September 29. Aguirre remains unconvinced. She points out that Spain sees 25,000 evictions every year, most of them in Catalonia. “Recently, in Catalonia, there was a woman who was evicted and committed suicide. Nobody talks about that. The only thing that matters is Maricarmen,” she says. Aguirre calls the outrage selective and describes it as media orchestration.
Maricarmen’s story has become a symbol. Aguirre says that symbol was manufactured. She recalls that when Maricarmen was asked who was to blame, she named Pedro Sánchez, then Ayuso and Almeida. Aguirre sees this as evidence that the story is being shaped for political ends, not to find real solutions on housing or migration. Euronews reports that after an investment fund acquired the building, Maricarmen’s rent was proposed to rise from around 500 euros to as much as 2,650 euros per month, before being reduced to 1,650 euros. Tenant unions cite the dramatic increase as a basic reason her case became emblematic of Spain’s broader housing crisis.
Aguirre also points to Pedro Sánchez’s 2015 promise to end evictions if he came to power. She says it remains unfulfilled. She cites the lack of new housing construction. Many Spaniards are worried, and Aguirre says the government is not doing enough.
The fight over Maricarmen’s eviction is part of a wider debate. Spain’s border regions are under pressure. Recent reporting on political fallout in Ceuta shows migration and sovereignty basic to the debate. Both sides accuse each other of misdirection.
Aguirre’s intervention is a warning: headline stories can serve as political smokescreens. The government’s new housing decree might bring short-term relief, while bigger questions about Spain’s borders and unity remain, alongside the issue of mass evictions. Maricarmen’s fate is both a personal tragedy and a political weapon. It reflects Spain’s anxieties and its priorities.
