Madrid protest camp grows after eviction of 87-year-old woman

Madrid's protest camp grew to dozens of tents Sunday after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her lifelong home sparked outrage over gaps in tenant protections.

Images of her being carried from her on a stretcher Wednesday, after police broke down her door, have thrust Spain's housing crisis back into the spotlight ahead of a general election due in 2027.

Thousands marched through Madrid's streets Saturday, rattling keys and blowing whistles to call for measures curbing rising housing costs and making evictions harder. 

"You could be the next Maricarmen," read one banner on display at the rally.

Government authorities put the turnout at around 25,000, while the Madrid Tenants' Union, which organized the protest, said over 300,000 took part. 

Once the rally ended, some activists set up a protest camp at Puerta del Sol square in the city center, the union said in a statement, calling people to gather there.

Police watched as about a dozen tents went up in the square in front of the Madrid regional government's headquarters, surrounded by thousands of protesters, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter at the scene. 

By early Sunday, El Pais reported the tent count had grown to around 150, with hundreds planning to spend the night.

Abascal was forced to leave the apartment where she had lived for 70 years after a real estate firm bought the property and raised the rent by 275% to €2,650 ($3,000), according to the union. 

Now a symbol of Spain's housing crisis, she urged Spaniards to join the protest in a video message posted online hours before it began.

Maricarmen Arnedo, a 76-year-old pensioner, said older people were being forced out of their homes even as "young people can't move out of their parents' homes." 

"We want house prices and rents to come down, because I'm fed up with washing the underpants of my 53-year-old son," she added.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has faced ongoing protests across Spain over housing since Abascal's eviction.

The government is expected to approve a package of measures dubbed the "Maricarmen decree" at its next cabinet meeting, including automatic renewal of rental contracts and further restrictions on evictions. But it remains unclear whether parliament will approve the package, as Sanchez's government lacks a majority.

While a similar bill was defeated earlier this year, Abascal's case has increased pressure on political parties to act. 

The Bank of Spain estimates the country of around 50 million people is short of 700,000 homes, based on the gap between demand and new construction.

Spain has little public housing, while rents have climbed due to rising demand, including from tourism and population growth linked to immigration, analysts say.