Maricarmen Abascal has passed away this Wednesday at the age of 87, according to the Madrid Tenants' Union. The Retiro neighbor had been hospitalized since September 23, when she was evicted from the apartment on Alcalde Sáinz de Baranda street where she had lived for more than seven decades. Her exit occurred on a stretcher and she was transferred by ambulance to the hospital.
The death comes after her family, her lawyer, and the Union managed to reach an agreement that would have allowed Maricarmen to return to her home once she received hospital discharge. In the end, she was unable to return to the house she occupied since 1956.
"We regret to announce that today Maricarmen has passed away," announced the Union, which believes that the solution reached came "too late" after a process it describes as "torturous."
Hospitalized since the eviction
The eviction was carried out on September 23 after several previous attempts to evict. Maricarmen then left the property on a stretcher, attended by Samur medical staff, while hundreds of people gathered around to try to prevent her exit. Europa Press
The woman had been hospitalized since then. The case had gained significant public attention and became one of the main symbols of the housing protests that have taken place in Madrid over the past few weeks.
Days after the eviction, an agreement was reached for her to return to the apartment after receiving discharge, through a new rental contract. That return will no longer be possible.
From Retiro to Puerta del Sol
The eviction provoked a mobilization that transcended Maricarmen's particular case. After the eviction, protests for the right to housing followed, and since September 26, a camp has been set up in Puerta del Sol, where participants have demanded new measures against evictions and the rising cost of rent.
The case also entered fully into the political debate over the two housing decrees promoted by the Government. The texts were initially rejected by Congress on October 2 and the Executive reapproved them this week, after the announcement of the general elections on November 29.
In its statement, the Union links the mobilizations following the eviction with the demonstrations, the encampments, and the call for a general strike for housing, although the organization also includes among its political consequences the electoral advance, an interpretation that corresponds to the collective itself.
"Fight, keep fighting for what is yours"
The Tenants' Union has dismissed Maricarmen claiming her role in the protests of the last weeks and assuring that it will maintain the mobilizations for the right to housing.
The organization has also recalled one of the requests that, as it explains, Maricarmen conveyed to those who accompanied her during the process: "Fight, keep fighting for what is yours".
"Your family, your lawyer, and your Union will continue defending the right to housing and fighting against speculators, with the strength and courage that you taught us," concludes the statement.