Thousands of people have marched this Thursday through the streets of Madrid in a peaceful march to what was the home of Maricarmen Abascal, with the aim of paying tribute to her after her death this Wednesday at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital, where she had been hospitalized since September 23 due to her eviction.
According to the figures provided by the Government Delegation, around 20,000 people have responded to the call of the Tenants' Union, which had urged mobilization in defense of the right to housing and to remember the figure of Maricarmen.
Upon arriving at the facade of the building where she lived for 71 years, attendees observed a minute of silence around an improvised altar filled with flowers and candles in memory of the deceased.
The streets connecting the center of the capital with Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street have been completely filled. The initial silence was broken when the chants of "shame, shame" began to be heard along the avenue.
During the march, participants directed their protests against the investment fund that acquired Maricarmen's home, chanting "Urbagestión, murderers" while raising their keys as a symbolic gesture of rejection.
In the final stretch of the event, the Tenants' Union requested a new minute of silence, this time dedicated to all the people who, like Maricarmen, have lost their lives after being evicted from their homes. The applause and visible emotion among those gathered, marked by the solemnity of the moment, closed this concentration in defense of housing, which also served as a massive farewell to the deceased neighbor.
The march for the right to housing
The mobilization began at 8:00 PM in front of the statue of El Oso y el Madroño, in Puerta del Sol. From there, the crowd called by the Tenants' Union advanced along Alcalá street. At the front, members of the union carried a floral arrangement dedicated to Maricarmen, which read "We will continue fighting for you. Your Union loves you," followed by hundreds of people with banners and signs in her memory.
"They are not deaths, they are murders," the protesters shouted to denounce the recent deaths of Maricarmen and Olga, a neighbor from L'Hospitalet (Barcelona) who took her own life after being evicted.
After descending down Alcalá street to the Cibeles Palace, headquarters of the Madrid City Council, the march has stopped for a few minutes. At that point, the attendees directed their slogans against the political leaders of the city and the Community, shouting phrases like "Ayuso, Almeida, go to hell." At the height of the Puerta de Alcalá, the protest stopped again, at which point the chant "guilty landlords, responsible Government" was heard loudly.
Already at the entrance of Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street, where Maricarmen's house was located, those present observed a minute of silence again, this time illuminated by hundreds of mobile phones with their flashlights on as a sign of mourning.
"We do not allow, not one eviction more," they shouted looking towards the building. Then, they chanted "Not all of us are here, Maricarmen is missing," before heading back and concluding the march.