An 87-year-old woman could return home after a new agreement with Urbagestión. Her lawyer says social pressure helped secure the deal, which still needs Maricarmen's approval and formal ratification.
Maricarmen has lived in her Madrid apartment for 71 years, according to reporting cited in the case. She could now return after leaving hospital under a preagreement with the fund Urbagestión.
The arrangement would keep almost the same conditions as before her eviction. Maricarmen must approve it first. Formal ratification is also required.
Maricarmen had lived in the apartment for 71 years, according to reporting cited in the case. That long residence became one of the factors behind the public reaction to the eviction.
The deal has opened a political dispute. Beatriz Duro, Maricarmen's lawyer, accused Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida of trying to claim credit for a settlement reached by the woman's representatives and the fund.
Duro discussed the case on Hoy por Hoy with Aimar Bretos. She said the deal might have been reached earlier. In her view, public administrations failed to settle a matter that had become a public-order issue.
That is why she rejected the mayor's attempt to present the result as his own. The immediate priority is now clear.
If the preagreement is formalised and Maricarmen is discharged from hospital, she is expected to return to her flat.
The mediation involved EMVS Madrid, the city’s municipal housing company, rather than being limited to direct talks between Maricarmen’s representatives and Urbagestión. The company also proposed including the apartment in the city’s Reviva programme so that Maricarmen could return under stable and affordable rental conditions.
Her belongings never left the property. Duro said Maricarmen was prevented from taking them during the eviction and called that an act of inhumanity.
A return would not require another move or a new household arrangement. That could make the process simpler.
Maricarmen does not yet know about the pact. Her lawyer said the agreement must first be put before her. Her consent is the next essential step.
Monday's document is not a completed resolution.
Duro attributed the breakthrough to pressure outside the institutions. She said social mobilisation and union action were decisive. Without them, she argued, the possibility of Maricarmen going home would have been unthinkable.
The wider record of disputes over public responses includes this
