Hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Spanish capital following the case of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who was evicted last Wednesday from the Madrid apartment where she had lived her entire life. At the heart of the city, protesters have set up a tent camp to demand relief from unaffordable rents, as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged on Sunday (27/09) to take immediate government action.
Spain: Protest camp over soaring rents
According to Agence France-Presse, hundreds of protesters set up tents over the weekend in the bustling Puerta del Sol square in the capital to push forward their demands. The movement was ignited by the Maricarmen case, which shocked the entire country. The 87-year-old was carried out on a stretcher after police broke down her door — a scene that triggered widespread outrage. Her ordeal brought to the surface a long-simmering frustration in Spain’s major cities over the rapid rise in the cost of renting or buying a home.
“We’ll stay as long as it takes”
Tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Madrid on Saturday, rattling keys and blowing whistles. Authorities reported 25,000 participants, while the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which organized the demonstration, claimed attendance exceeded 300,000. Many then set up camp at Puerta del Sol, vowing to remain until housing access improves or the government falls.
“We’ll stay as long as it takes. Even as we mobilize, the pressure keeps mounting and we’ve already reached our breaking point,” said a 28-year-old protester who gave only his first name, Sergio, speaking in front of his tent.
Sánchez’s message to Maricarmen
The housing crisis in Spain has become a burning issue ahead of general elections scheduled for next year. At a political rally organized by his Socialist Party on Sunday, Sánchez addressed the evicted woman directly, saying: “Maricarmen, I have a message for you. The government is doing everything possible to present the housing bill.”
He also called on other political parties to support the legislation, which is expected to include measures such as automatic lease renewals and further restrictions on evictions. However, Sánchez’s party does not hold a majority in the Spanish parliament, and it remains unclear whether the package will pass. A similar bill was rejected earlier this year.
“We can’t take it anymore”
Abascal was forced to leave the apartment where she had lived for 70 years after a real estate company acquired the property and raised the rent by 275 percent, to €2,650 ($3,000), according to the tenants’ union.
Having become a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis, Abascal urged Spaniards to join Saturday’s protest through a video message posted online just hours before it began. “I want what happened to me to serve as a lesson so it doesn’t happen to others,” she said from the hospital, where she has been receiving treatment for exhaustion since her eviction. “I want it to encourage people to fight and help change the laws that allowed my eviction,” she added in the video, which was shared by the tenants’ union.
#Urgente. Maricarmen Abascal, de 87 años y con discapacidad, enfrenta un nuevo intento de desahucio el día 23 de la vivienda en la que ha vivido durante más de 70 años. Recordamos que:#Maricarmensequeda pic.twitter.com/bls98V7jVJ
— Amnistía Internacional Madrid (@amnistiamadrid) September 17, 2026
Many of those who took part in the demonstration said the rental market has become simply unmanageable. Madrid property platform Idealista estimates that rents have nearly doubled over the past decade.
“It’s a struggle to find a home you can afford, and then you live in constant fear of being evicted,” protester Enrique Ortega de Miguel, a 38-year-old graphic designer living with his mother, told AFP. Puerta del Sol — a major hub heavily used by commuters and tourists alike — has been the site of previous large-scale protests.
In 2011, young demonstrators protesting against poor economic conditions and corruption occupied the square for three weeks.
Spain has very little public housing, and rents have skyrocketed due to rising demand driven by, among other factors, tourism and population growth linked to immigration, according to analysts.
