Dozens of housing protesters spent Saturday night in tents at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol after thousands marched following the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal. They said they would stay as long as needed to press the government to address Spain’s housing crisis.
The Madrid Tenants’ Union said a real estate firm that acquired Abascal’s apartment raised the rent by 275% to €2,650; she had lived there for 70 years. The government is expected to approve a package dubbed the “Maricarmen decree” at its next cabinet meeting. It reportedly includes automatic rental-contract renewals and further eviction restrictions.
Activists said they would judge the decree by its actual contents and called for deeper housing-market reforms. Campaigners want lifelong rental contracts, strict limits on rent increases and tourist apartment rentals, and a major increase in investment in public housing.
