Eviction of 87-Year-Old Madrid Resident Spotlights Spain’s Housing Crisis

The dramatic eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid home, where she lived for seven decades, has brought the severity of Spain’s housing crisis into sharp focus.

Maricarmen, the tenant of a flat in Madrid’s central Retiro district, was unable to pay the rent demanded by the investment firm that owns the property.

Maricarmen’s father first rented the property in 1956, and she continued as the tenant after her parents passed away, during which time rent was capped.

However, the company that purchased the property in 2018, Urbagestión, used a legal loophole to raise her rent from €500 to €2,650.

The firm later lowered the rent to €1,650, but Maricarmen was still unable to afford it on her monthly pension of €1,350.

While three previous eviction attempts were blocked by the courts, the case has increasingly drawn media attention.

Supporters camped outside the building on Tuesday night, joined by celebrities including Carlos Bardem, brother of Javier Bardem, and singer Ana Belén, who recited Rafael Alberti’s poem Desahucio (Eviction).

By morning, several hundred people, mostly young activists, had gathered to prevent the eviction, chanting “Maricarmen stays.” Some protesters even blocked the stairs inside the building.

In a social media video, a tearful Maricarmen thanked those who came to support her, describing her plight as “this cruel struggle by someone who wants to earn money.”

Source link