The death of the elderly María del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, last Wednesday (7), turned into mourning a wave of mobilizations that had already taken over Spain for at least two weeks. At 87 years old, she had been removed on a stretcher, on September 23, from the apartment in the Retiro neighborhood, in Madrid, where she had lived since she was 17. Taken to a hospital shortly after the eviction, she never returned home.
The case of Carmen Abascal is a portrait of the housing crisis that is plaguing the population of the European country and that led the government of Pedro Sánchez, from the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (Psoe), to present a package of emergency measures for housing. The proposals, however, were overturned in Congress on Friday (2) by votes from Vox and the far-right Popular Party (PP), and Junts, a Catalan independence party.
Faced with the rejection of the conservative coalition, on Monday (5), Sánchez announced the anticipation of the general elections to November 29th. The following day, the government reissued the measures by decree, which still depend on a new vote to remain valid.
“We will not allow any more evictions like the one Maricarmen suffered,” declared Sánchez, who classified the real estate market as “dysfunctional”.
On Wednesday, the largest trade unions in Spain called a general strike for November 11, for “better wages” and “decent housing”.
Symbol of the fight for decent housing
“They killed Maricarmen. They made an 87-year-old woman spend her last days in anguish and in a hospital,” he told the agency AFP Nora Boumghait, a 25-year-old marketing professional, was among the hundreds of protesters who gathered near the Congress of Deputies on the night of the death. “If this started with her, it will continue with her.”
At Puerta del Sol, where protesters have been camping for around ten days, candles were placed between the tents and a minute of silence was held in honor of the retiree.
The Tenants Union, which followed the elderly woman’s struggle, stated that the reactions to the eviction represent “a before and after in the history of this country”.
“The debate on housing is at the center of attention, but the cost of getting here was too high,” he lamented.
A contract signed in 1956
The apartment was rented by Maricarmen’s father in 1956, under the regime known in Spain as old rent: contracts of practically indefinite duration, with values adjusted only for inflation, which could be passed from one generation to another of the same family. With his father’s death, the contract was transferred to his mother and, in 2005, to Maricarmen, who paid around 500 euros per month (around R$2,800).
This model was dismantled by the Urban Lease Law (LAU) of 1994, which liberalized the rental market and limited the transfer of these contracts between family members. According to transition rules, Maricarmen’s contract ended in 2007, two years after the second transfer. The law guaranteed lifetime permanence to tenants with a disability level of at least 65%. She had 50% recognized, and the Supreme Court won the case for the owner.
The building was sold in 2018, and the property came under the control of a company, which proposed a new contract with a value three times higher, above the pension of 1,450 euros that the elderly woman received. Maricarmen refused, and the case ended in an eviction order. According to the defense, she never stopped paying the rent.
According to the Spanish press, hours before the eviction, the company had refused the offer from a writer, who requested anonymity, to pay the difference for the rest of the tenant’s life. The United Nations (UN) had asked Spain to avoid eviction and guarantee alternative housing.
The regional government of Madrid, led by far-right Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP), claims to have offered places in residences for the elderly. The measure was refused by Maricarmen, who claimed the right to spend the remaining time of his life in the apartment where he lived for 70 years.
After the repercussions, the company accepted an agreement that would allow Maricarmen to return to the apartment after discharge from the hospital, but her health condition did not allow it.
Rent consumes half of the salary
The average gross salary in Spain is around 2,460 euros (around R$14,000) per month, generally paid in 14 annual installments. Renting a 50 square meter apartment in Madrid cost, on average, 1,170 euros (R$6,534) in September, according to the Idealista portal. It is almost half the rent, far from the 30% recommended by public bodies and the real estate sector itself.
Tenant movements point to tourist rental platforms, such as Airbnb, and investment funds as responsible for the spike in prices, when buying properties and reducing the supply for those who live in cities.
“For years now, renting and selling houses has become completely crazy. It’s impossible to buy or rent anything,” he told AFP Beatriz Blanco, 37-year-old self-employed worker, at the Puerta del Sol camp.
In 2023, Pedro Sánchez’s government approved a law that provided for more construction of affordable housing, a ceiling on rents in stressed market areas and sanctions for owners of empty properties. The text, however, failed to stop the rise in prices.
*With information from AFP
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
