Evicted Spanish Pensioner Whose Case Sparked Housing Protests Dies, Tenant Union Says

Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old Madrid pensioner whose eviction ignited protests across Spain, has died, the Madrid Tenants’ Union said Wednesday. She had lived in her apartment for more than 70 years before being removed on a stretcher in September, after a sharp rent increase. Abascal was hospitalized following the eviction. Although her landlord later agreed to let her return under a new rental deal, the union said the resolution came too late. Trade unions have called a nationwide strike over housing issues for November 11.