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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/25\/world\/europe\/spain-eviction-housing-crisis.html?emc=edit_nn_20260927&nl=the-morning&segment_id=227142",
    "parsed_content": "AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTEvicted 87-Year-Old Woman Urges Spaniards to \u2018Fight\u2019 to Avoid Same FateMar\u00eda del Carmen Abascal, whose case has become a symbol of Spain\u2019s housing crisis, appeared in a video from a hospital bed after being removed from her apartment.Listen \u00b7 6:04 min Share full articleMar\u00eda del Carmen Abascal, 87, after she was evicted from her Madrid apartment on Wednesday. \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to defend my home, but I did fight so that others can learn to fight for theirs,\u201d she said.Credit...Susana Vera\/ReutersBy Carlos Barrag\u00e1nReporting from MadridPublished Sept. 25, 2026Updated Sept. 26, 2026Leer en espa\u00f1olSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Mar\u00eda del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old who became a symbol of Spain\u2019s housing crisis after the police tore down her door to evict her, urged Spaniards in a video to \u201cfight\u201d for their homes, helping ignite a large protest in the capital on Saturday.\u201cI wasn\u2019t able to defend my home, but I did fight so that others can learn to fight for theirs,\u201d said Ms. Abascal, speaking from a bed at a Madrid hospital where she was admitted on Wednesday after the eviction because of health problems.Ms. Abascal, known as Maricarmen, urged Spaniards to demonstrate in Madrid on Saturday against evictions. \u201cPlease, fight,\u201d she said in the video, recorded on Thursday and shared on social media by a tenants\u2019 union on Friday.By Saturday evening, crowds of thousands had gathered in the city carrying signs and chanting, according to footage published by the tenants\u2019 union, which is organizing the protest, and Reuters. As night fell, demonstrators had pitched tents in Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid\u2019s busiest public squares, as part of a sit-in protesting the housing crisis.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe union said that Ms. Abascal would remain in the hospital for a few days after suffering an anxiety episode following the eviction but that her condition was \u201cnot serious.\u201dMs. Abascal\u2019s case has struck a nerve among Spaniards fed up with rising housing costs, drawing thousands of protesters into the streets of cities across the country and piling pressure on Pedro S\u00e1nchez, Spain\u2019s left-leaning prime minister, who had promised to make housing a priority for his government.Here\u2019s what to know about Ms. Abascal and Spain\u2019s housing problem.Why is Ms. Abascal now a face of the crisis?Ms. Abascal shot to prominence on Wednesday when the police dragged away activists who had barricaded themselves outside the Madrid home where she had lived for 70 years and then broke down her door.She was evicted after years of legal battles with Urbagesti\u00f3n, the real estate company that owns the apartment.Ms. Abascal\u2019s father acquired the rental lease when the family moved there in the 1950s, according to her attorney, Beatriz Duro. He passed it to his wife, who in turn passed the rent-controlled lease in 2005 to Ms. Abascal, who was living in the apartment when Urbagesti\u00f3n bought it in 2020 by Urbagesti\u00f3n, Ms. Duro said.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAccording to Ms. Duro, Ms. Abascal was evicted because Urbagesti\u00f3n had raised her rent to about $1,900 a month from $500, far more than she could afford on her monthly pension of around $1,500.Urbagesti\u00f3n did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement to Spanish media, the company said it evicted Ms. Abascal because her lease had expired and that it had never tried to raise her rent.ImageHousing rights activists after failing to prevent the eviction of Ms. Abascal on Wednesday. They had barricaded themselves outside her Madrid home.Credit...Susana Vera\/ReutersThe case reached the Spanish Supreme Court, which ruled in March in Urbagesti\u00f3n\u2019s favor.The images of her eviction shook many, bringing renewed attention to the housing crisis, an issue consistently ranking as Spaniards\u2019 top concern.\u201cWe\u2019re all Maricarmen,\u201d read one demonstrator\u2019s banner on Wednesday.Why is housing such a major issue?Spain has a housing shortfall of about 755,000 homes, according to the Bank of Spain \u2014 a major problem in a country of roughly 50 million.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTExperts say the problem has been worsened by sluggish construction, the arrival of more than three million immigrants since the pandemic, and a surge in tourism \u2014 a record 100 million visitors are projected to visit Spain this year.That has allowed landlords to raise prices, while wage stagnation over the past three decades has made those prices even less affordable. In Madrid, residents need roughly 18 years of annual salary to buy an apartment, according to CaixaBank Research.\u201cAll of this is creating the perfect storm of sorts: high demand and very low supply,\u201d said Jorge Galindo, director of the Esade Center for Economic Policy, a think tank in Madrid.Evictions have steadily declined since the eurozone crisis, to about 25,000 last year, from around 68,000 in 2014. But evictions remain politically delicate for the government, especially because Mr. S\u00e1nchez promised before taking office to end them.The claim of a sharp rent increase faced by Ms. Abascal and the role of a real estate company in her eviction have angered Mr. S\u00e1nchez\u2019s left-wing base. Many of them accuse private investment firms of driving up housing costs in Spain.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe situation compounds a broader political crisis for Mr. S\u00e1nchez, whose associates and relatives face several corruption accusations and convictions.What will the government do?Facing more protests this weekend, Mr. S\u00e1nchez has promised that his government will respond to what he called a \u201csocial tragedy.\u201dMr. S\u00e1nchez\u2019s minority government could send a bill to Parliament as early as next week that would make evictions more difficult, freeze some rents and speed up some housing projects, but it is unclear whether such a measure would pass.The Spanish news media reported on Friday that Junts, a small right-wing Catalan separatist party that is not part of the government but sometimes votes with Mr. S\u00e1nchez to pass legislation, was open to supporting the measure.A similar bill was defeated in February by Junts and the main opposition parties, who said that the legislation would harm small landlords.Pranav Baskar contributed reporting.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-25T14:43:11+00:00",
    "author_name": "Carlos Barrag\u00e1n",
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