Police removed 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid home on September 23, 2026. The operation ended with her on a stretcher and later in hospital. Abascal has a 50% disability and had lived at the address for more than seven decades. Her eviction has become a focus of Spain’s wider debate over housing access.
After investment company Urbagestión bought the property in 2018, the monthly rent reportedly rose from 500 euros to 2,650 euros, an amount Abascal could not afford, Reuters and the BBC reported. Images of the operation quickly spread.
The eviction has brought people across political lines together around a shared complaint: housing is becoming harder to access. No specific political measure was announced, but public anger over the lack of access to housing has been widespread.
The facts are stark. Abascal is 87 and has a 50% disability. She had lived in the Madrid property for more than 70 years.
The dispute had lasted about eight years, and police had made at least three earlier attempts to enforce the eviction. Deutsche Welle and Euronews reported that Spain’s Supreme Court ultimately sided with the owner, clearing the way for the eviction.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the episode a tragedy and said the situation was unacceptable. The national government also criticised the decision to remove Abascal.
That response put the case in the middle of a wider fight over rising rents and long-term tenancies, amid a shortage of affordable housing.
Protests followed in Madrid and other Spanish cities. Reuters reported that hundreds gathered near the building. The New York Times described thousands taking to the streets that day to protest the eviction and the wider housing crisis.
Earlier coverage focused on the dispute around Abascal’s home, including this housing report. The case has come to represent a pensioner removed from the place where she spent seven decades.
Marina Colorado reported on the case, connecting the eviction to Spain’s wider housing crisis.
The facts remain stark: police removed an 87-year-old woman with a 50% disability from a Madrid home where she had spent more than 70 years. The eviction drew broad criticism over housing access.
On September 25, The New York Times reported that Abascal had recorded a message from hospital. She called on Spaniards to defend their homes and join protests planned in Madrid for September 27.
