Thousands of people marched in Spain’s capital Madrid on Saturday to protest the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her home. Protesters demanded more protections for tenants, a ban on rising rents and making it more difficult to evict people from their homes. The incident has once again focused attention on Spain’s dire housing crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections. Marycarmen Abascal was evicted from her home on Wednesday. She lived in this house for almost 70 years.

The police broke the door of his flat and took him out. At that time he was taken away on a stretcher. After this he was admitted to the hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called his ouster a social tragedy. The government is preparing to bring the Maricarman Decree in the next cabinet meeting. This could include measures such as automatically extending rental contracts and imposing more restrictions on evictions. However, the government does not have a majority in parliament, so the proposal is not certain to pass.

3 lakh people demonstrated

Anger over the housing crisis in Spain grew after the images of Maricarmen surfaced. In Saturday’s demonstration, people pounded keys, whistled and chanted slogans in central Madrid. The banner read – You could be the next Marie Carmen. According to government officials, about 25 thousand people participated in the demonstration. At the same time, the organizers claimed that around 3 lakh people participated in the march.

7 lakh housing shortage in Spain

According to Maricarmen, the real estate company that bought their property raised their rent by 275% to 2,650 euros. After this she could not pay the increased house rent. In a video message released from the hospital, he appealed to people to join the protest. He said what happened to him should not happen to others and people should raise their voices for change in the law.

According to the Bank of Spain, Spain, with a population of nearly 50 million, has a shortage of 7 million houses. Government housing is also less in the country. Both housing demand and rents have increased due to tourism and a growing population.