Spain: scandal over eviction of 87-year-old woman
The case of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who was evicted from the flat in Madrid where she had lived for more than 70 years, has triggered outrage in Spain. Real estate company Urbagestión had raised her rent from 500 to 2,650 euros, well beyond what Abascal could afford on a monthly pension of 1,350 euros. Hundreds of demonstrators tried to prevent the eviction, without success. Spain is currently facing a severe housing crisis.
Politics and society have failed
La Vanguardia is outraged:
“A progressive society like ours should not accept Maricarmen being evicted from the home where she has lived for 70 years. ... In recent months, the government has tabled three different initiatives in parliament in an attempt to reach an agreement and prevent situations like this ones. All have failed. The parties that helped Pedro Sánchez form his government are unable to reach an agreement with PSOE on a definitive solution to Spain's housing crisis. And in the meantime, there are women like Maricarmen all over the country. ... And then there are the investment funds that have turned into unscrupulous landlords without any dignity and are always seeking ways to make more and more money. ... This is unacceptable. It is a failure of our politicians, but also of our society.”
Government ignored the housing crisis
Nothing has changed under the ruling Socialists, El Mundo criticises:
“This case has turned into a political conflict which the government has exploited to lash out at [the regional and municipal governments of] the conservative People's Party. ... The fact is that Pedro Sánchez has ignored the housing crisis throughout his eight years in office. It is disconcerting that the government is trying to shirk its responsibility, given that the legal framework which made this eviction possible is established at the national level. The case of Maricarmen – a particularly extreme expression of a wider failure in housing policy – exposes a contradiction that also applies to the ruling left-wing government: the gulf between its social promises and the results of its governance.”