The Tenants' Union has called for a demonstration this Saturday, September 26, in Madrid after the eviction of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman evicted this Wednesday from the home in the Retiro neighborhood where she had lived for more than seven decades. The protest will be held under the slogan "Not one more Maricarmen, let’s point out the responsible parties".
The mobilization will begin at 6:30 PM at Puerta del Sol, will travel through several streets in the city center, will pass by the City Hall, and will end in front of the Congress of Deputies.
"We cannot continue to tolerate being expelled"
The Tenants' Union has directly linked the call to the case of Maricarmen and to the situation of the housing market.
"We cannot continue to tolerate being expelled from our neighborhoods and having our lives torn away," say the organizers, who demand "homes to live in, not to speculate".
"Together we are stronger than any government, judge, or landlord," they add.
The call comes just three days after an eviction that gathered hundreds of people in the vicinity of the home and has once again placed housing at the center of political debate. RTVE estimated around 300 people mobilized during the camp prior to the eviction.
Maricarmen remains hospitalized after the eviction
Maricarmen was evicted this Wednesday from the apartment on Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street where she had lived for more than 70 years.
After leaving the home, she was transferred to the Gregorio Marañón Hospital, where she continued to be hospitalized on Thursday after suffering from exhaustion associated with anxiety and stress caused by the eviction.
The woman lived with an old rent contract and paid around 500 euros a month. According to the information published about the case, the property had subsequently proposed a rent of 1,650 euros per month, an amount higher than the pension of about 1,300 euros that she receives.
The case has generated intense neighborhood and political mobilization in recent days and has also opened a new clash within the coalition government regarding pending housing measures.
A protest that will end in front of Congress
The route chosen by the organizers takes the protest from Puerta del Sol to Congress, with a prior stop at the City Hall of Madrid.
The Union thus seeks to shift the pressure from the specific case of Maricarmen to the institutions responsible for housing policies and turn her eviction into a symbol of a broader claim.
The demonstration will start this Saturday at 6:30 PM.