Spanish police used tear gas and baton charges in Madrid on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters attempted to prevent the eviction of an 87-year-old disabled woman from the apartment where she had lived for 71 years.
The woman, identified as Maricarmen, lives in the Retiro district and had become the focus of a campaign by housing activists who gathered outside her building overnight. It was the fourth attempt to enforce the eviction after a legal dispute over her tenancy.
Maricarmen’s father originally rented the apartment in 1956. After the deaths of her parents, she continued living there under the inherited tenancy arrangement. The building was later acquired by developer Urbagestión, which successfully challenged the validity of the tenancy in Spain’s Supreme Court.
Her rent was increased from €500 to €1,650 a month, while her state pension is €1,350. An offer from an unnamed writer to cover the difference was reportedly rejected. The company was also offered the possibility of negotiations over alternative arrangements.
Police eventually cleared a path for the judicial committee and the eviction was carried out. Spanish media reported that Maricarmen was later taken from the building by ambulance.
The confrontation has renewed debate over housing affordability, rent increases and protections for vulnerable tenants in Spain. Around 4,000 evictions have been carried out across the country so far this year.
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