The eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman in a wheelchair, has set off a fierce political row in Spain. Ministers and coalition partners are now openly blaming each other for failing to protect the most vulnerable from losing their homes.
Maricarmen is 87. She uses a wheelchair. This week, police evicted her from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seventy years. Her last attempt to stop the process failed. The image of an elderly woman losing her home has become a rallying point. It has set off a political storm that now threatens to split Spain’s governing coalition.
As police carried out the eviction in the Retiro district, Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez García called it "a very dramatic day." She blamed unchecked speculation and laws that favor property investors over residents. Rodríguez pointed straight at the regional government led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso. She accused the Community of Madrid of refusing to regulate the market and siding with speculators. Independent Spanish media reported this was the fourth and final attempt to evict Maricarmen. Police and large groups of supporters were at the scene.
After the change of ownership, Maricarmen's rent reportedly jumped from around 500 euros to between 1,650 and 2,650 euros per month, depending on the source.
But the government’s own allies in parliament quickly turned the blame back on the PSOE. Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture, demanded the Socialists act at once. He said a decree to extend rental protections and an eviction moratorium could have stopped Maricarmen’s removal. Urtasun called the investment fund that owns the building "a real disgrace" and said the event marked a "turning point."
Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Social Rights, echoed the criticism. He blamed parties that blocked the anti-eviction moratorium in Congress. Sumar’s parliamentary spokesperson, Verónica Barbero, pressed the PSOE to treat the housing crisis as urgent and to pass emergency measures now. Reports from El Español and ElDiario said the Ministry of Housing had officially asked both the Madrid city council and the regional government to step in and stop the eviction. These appeals were ignored.
Inside the government, the fight grew sharper. Sira Rego, Minister of Youth and Children, said all levels of government must accept their share of responsibility. She even questioned whether property rights should come first in cases like this. Patxi López, the Socialist spokesperson, defended the Ministry’s actions. He said their proposals were ignored by both the Community and the City of Madrid, and blamed the Partido Popular.
The eviction of Maricarmen sparked mass solidarity actions, with hundreds gathering outside her home on Alcalde Sáinz de Baranda street. Police cordoned off the area and removed protest tents, while government delegate Fran Martín called the eviction 'deeply unjust and unacceptable.'
The eviction has shown how vulnerable Spain’s elderly and disabled tenants are. It has also exposed deep splits inside the ruling bloc. The ERC’s spokesperson warned that the housing crisis could bring down the government if it is not solved.
At the center of the crisis is a failed attempt to reach a deal with the company that owns the building. The company refused to put the social value of housing ahead of profit. The government could not get enough support in parliament for stronger tenant protections. Disagreements among coalition partners left Maricarmen with no way out.
Spain’s housing crisis is no longer just a policy debate. The forced removal of an 87-year-old woman after seventy years in her home has made the cost of political inaction clear. The government’s fractured response, with each side blaming the other, shows a dangerous standstill at a time when action is needed most. Unless Spain’s leaders can put aside their differences and pass real protections for vulnerable tenants, cases like Maricarmen’s will only deepen public mistrust and put the coalition’s hold on power at risk.
