Police evict 87-year-old woman from Madrid home after 71 years

Madrid, Spain. Police evicted 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal on Wednesday from the home where she had lived for 71 years, despite hundreds of people protesting outside and government criticism of the eviction order. She was taken from the building on a stretcher and driven away in an ambulance.

Dispute over the apartment

Abascal was given 30 minutes to leave with only essential belongings. Social services officials accompanied her from the building as supporters chanted “Maricarmen, you’re not alone!” and “Murderers!”

The apartment, in Madrid’s affluent Retiro neighbourhood, had been acquired by an investment fund that sought a steep rent increase. Abascal’s lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said court officials and representatives of the fund, Urbagestion, refused to suspend the eviction despite a pending court filing, humanitarian appeals and evidence that public authorities were working to secure alternative accommodation.

Duro said an anonymous individual had offered to cover the rent payments, but the landlord declined to sign a new lease. Urbagestion did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“I’ve lived here for 71 years and I don’t want to leave,” Abascal told reporters on the eve of the eviction.

Protests and housing pressures

Police forcibly removed protesters blocking the building’s entrance. Reuters witnesses saw officers dragging and pushing demonstrators, lifting some by their arms and legs to clear the doorway.

The case comes amid mounting pressure on long-term tenants in major Spanish cities, where rising rents, gentrification and a shortage of affordable housing have fuelled social and political tensions. Spain remains divided over how to address its worsening housing affordability crisis.