Thousands of people have started around 6:30 PM this Saturday a demonstration from the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, called by the Madrid Tenants' Union, to demand accountability for the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal and to call for immediate measures that guarantee the right to decent housing.
The protest, which is still ongoing and crosses the heart of the capital to the Congress of Deputies, is part of a wave of mobilizations in 40 cities across the country under the slogan "Not one more Maricarmen."
During the march through the center, participants have displayed banners with critical messages about housing policy, such as "A rent strike is needed now, a general strike is needed now," "Madrid will be the grave of rentism," or "Vulture funds expropriation."
Posters directed at Madrid institutions have also been shown with slogans like "Ayuso's penthouse for Maricarmen" or "Ayuso, Almeida go to hell," alongside the slogan "We want to see Maricarmen return."
The mobilization occurs after the eviction carried out last Wednesday against Maricarmen Abascal, an octogenarian neighbor from Madrid with a disability.
The spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, Alicia del Río, stated this Saturday that Maricarmen's case has represented a "point of no return" in the fight for housing in Spain and has demanded the Government's urgent approval this Tuesday of the so-called "Maricarmen royal decree."
In this regard, she warned in statements to the media before the start of the march that if the regulation is not approved, the Executive "makes no sense" and should reconsider its continuity.
"If we all unite, we can achieve it"
Through a video disseminated by the Tenants' Union, the affected party herself has reiterated her call to the public to continue mobilizing in defense of the right to housing and to join the demonstration.
"If we all unite, we can achieve indefinite contracts, we can achieve what we set out to do. That is what I expect from you, thank you very much," concludes Maricarmen in the recording, in which the speech difficulties she still struggles with are perceived.