Protesters outraged by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman camped overnight in Madrid's historic Puerta del Sol plaza, where more demonstrators—including multigenerational families—joined them on Sunday for a second day of protests over Spain's housing crisis. Tens of thousands marched through Madrid on Saturday to protest the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal from the apartment in the upscale Retiro neighborhood where she had lived for more than seven decades. The demonstrators are demanding stronger tenant protections, measures to combat fraud, and a ban on evictions when alternative housing is unavailable, the AP reports. Many refused to leave after Saturday's march and pitched tents in Puerta del Sol for the night.
"The housing situation is unsustainable," said Natalia Navarro, a 27-year-old actress who was among those camping out at the plaza. "We are all out on the street because we are fed up." Alicia del Río, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, which led the protests, said demonstrations will stay there until the government passes new laws, including indefinite rental contracts, and stops evictions like Abascal's. Spain's Socialist-led government is expected to announce new measures in its cabinet meeting next Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Abascal was carried from her apartment on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance as supporters who had tried to stop the eviction chanted her nickname, "Maricarmen." In a video later recorded from her hospital bed, she said, "I haven't managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what's theirs." Images of the eviction spread across Spain, fueling outrage and criticism of public authorities and real estate investment companies accused of pricing residents out of their homes. "Maricarmen has been, in a way, the last straw that sparked this social unrest," said Simón de la Riva, 43, a teacher who protested Saturday.
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