Reuters reported that 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was given about 30 minutes to leave her Madrid flat, where she had lived for 71 years. She is asking Pedro Sánchez to bring a proposed decree before the Council of Ministers, saying it would help dismantle the legal and institutional system behind her eviction.
The eviction took place in Retiro, where Euronews reported that previous attempts had already been made. The outlet said this was the fourth attempt to remove Abascal from the flat where she had lived since 1956. She was taken to hospital after suffering severe exhaustion during the operation. From her hospital room, she recorded a message for the public, released by the Sindicato de Inquilinas. It was her second public message since the eviction, and she can still be heard struggling to speak.
Maricarmen has named her proposal the "decreto Maricarmen". She wants the Consejo de Ministros to approve it on Tuesday. The measure would be a first step toward dismantling the legal and institutional system that she says made her eviction possible.
The proposal is not yet law. Even if the Government approves it, Congress would still have to validate it. RTVE reported that the tenants' union wants the decree to cover evictions and rental-law reform, as well as seasonal and room rentals.
The campaign is aimed beyond the prime minister. Maricarmen is also asking supporters to sign an online petition launched by the Sindicato de Inquilinas, linking her case to a wider push to change Spain's housing rules. Reuters and the BBC reported that the eviction drew protests and political attention, as did The New York Times.
Her demand is simple: she wants other people to avoid what happened to her.
Maricarmen says public pressure could help secure indefinite contracts and other measures backed by the tenants' organisation. The dispute began when an old rental agreement ended. Spain English identified the company involved as Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversión, also known as Urbagesa. The company proposed monthly rent of €2,650, up from approximately €500. RTVE reports that the draft "decreto Maricarmen" provides for the automatic extension of existing contracts and a freeze on their prices. The package would also include measures against evictions and rental-law reform, alongside regulation of seasonal and room rentals.
The question now is whether the Consejo de Ministros will turn the demand into a decree. Congress would then decide whether to support it. For now, Maricarmen is asking for that first legal step.
Protests have spread beyond Madrid. Euronews reported demonstrations in cities including Granada, and the Sindicato de Inquilinas has made her case the centre of its campaign.
The housing debate also includes proposals beyond evictions, as outlined in an earlier housing report. Maricarmen's request is more direct: change the rules that applied in her case before another tenant faces the same result. Reuters reported that she was given around 30 minutes to leave. Workers carried her from the building on a stretcher, and an ambulance took her away.
The proposed "decreto Maricarmen" would not reverse her eviction or provide protection unless it becomes law. The Government has publicly criticised the eviction, and the case has become a prominent symbol of Spain's housing crisis.
Nothing has changed yet. Maricarmen is asking ministers to begin.
