The parliaments of Andalusia and the Valencian Community, both with a PP majority, held a minute of silence on Thursday in memory of Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman who became a symbol of the fight for housing after being evicted from the apartment where she lived for 71 years in the capital and who passed away this Wednesday.
In the case of the Valencian Cortes, the minute of silence was carried out at the initiative of the PSPV and with the unanimous support of all groups represented in the Chamber. The tribute was held at the start of the Plenary, before the session of control to the president of the Generalitat, Juanfran Pérez Llorca.
The deputies of Vox, for their part, left the hemicycle during the tribute, claiming that, in their opinion, it was a "political use" of the death.
In Andalusia, the commission of Housing, Youth, and Land Planning of the regional Parliament began its meeting with a minute of silence requested by Por Andalucía. The coalition argued that it was "just" to carry out this gesture in a commission that precisely analyzes the housing situation.
After the request, the 'popular' president of the commission, Arturo Bernal, the councilor of Housing, Youth, and Land Planning, Rocío Díaz, and the deputies present in the room stood up and observed the minute of silence in memory of the deceased.
SILENCE IN THE CORTES OF ARAGÓN FOR "ALL VULNERABLE PEOPLE"
In Aragón, the Plenary of the Cortes held a minute of silence for "all vulnerable people," at the proposal of its president, María Navarro, while the opposition groups held two others specifically dedicated to Maricarmen, driven by PSOE and CHA.
In this line, the PP has maintained that "all those people and their families deserve the same respect, the same consideration, and the same humanity from all institutions" and has demanded to be "very careful when turning an individual death into an institutional act."
In the Community of Madrid, Más Madrid and PSOE observed a minute of silence in the courtyard of the regional Assembly, after PP and Vox refused to pay tribute to Maricarmen before the start of the Plenary.
From the PP, they indicated that, although they regret the death of Maricarmen, they chose not to join the tribute to "not contribute to its political use" within an "interested campaign."
MUNICIPALITIES: MADRID DOES NOT CALL A MINUTE OF SILENCE AND A CORUÑA DOES
In Madrid, the city where the eviction that sparked protests and gatherings in different parts of the country took place, the City Council has also not called a minute of silence. The municipal spokesperson, Inma Sanz, has defended this stance to "not instrumentalize the death of any person, as the Madrid left is unfortunately doing."
In the same vein, the Popular Party in the City Council of Zaragoza has rejected the PSOE's proposal to hold a minute of silence during the full session for the delivery of the city titles, considering it "a smokescreen to cover up that the PSOE's sewers wanted to assassinate the judge of Pedro Sánchez's corrupt brother."
In contrast, the City Council of A Coruña has called for this afternoon, at 19:00 hours, a minute of silence in memory of Maricarmen. The mayor, Inés Rey (PSdG-PSOE), has emphasized that the deceased "became a symbol for rights."
REJECTION IN THE SENATE
The controversy over the minute of silence has also reached the Senate. The PSOE has demanded a tribute of this kind in the session of the Permanent Deputation this Thursday, but the president of the Chamber, Pedro Rollán, has rejected it, although he has expressed his solidarity with Maricarmen's family and with all the people who have died due to the impact of housing.
Maricarmen Abascal died this Wednesday after being hospitalized since September 23 at the Gregorio Marañón hospital, after being transferred on a stretcher from her home on Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street, in Madrid, when the eviction order was executed.