Police Forcibly Evicted 87-Year-Old Disabled Woman From Her Home. Spain Must Implement Strong Tenant Protections, Now!

At the end of September, an 87-year-old woman who uses a wheelchair was forcibly evicted from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for 70 years. This is practically the only home she has ever really known. After both her parents died, she took on the lease. But when a money-hungry investment corporation bought the building, it raised her rent 430% - and when she couldn't pay that new amount, it tried four times to evict her.

The fourth time was briefly successful. Police wrenched her out of her own apartment, carrying her on a stretcher. She was brought to a hospital where she is being treated for exhaustion and other concerns.

Luckily, Maricarmen Abascal's lawyer says she can now return to her home, thanks to the help of people throughout Spain and throughout the world who rushed to her defense. But what of other people living in Madrid and throughout Spain? What about protections for the other Maricarmen?

Sign the petition to demand improved laws to protect renters from exploitation, profiteering, and generally inhumane treatment in Spain!

The housing unaffordability crisis has significantly worsened over time. In just 10 years, rental prices for apartments in Spain have increased by 80%, while the cost of purchasing a home has increased 63%. A spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, Alicia del Río, said: "The whole country has seen that housing speculation has no mercy on anyone." It's no surprise then that more than 10,000 people turned up in the streets to support Maricarmen and protest the current housing crisis.

People throughout the country are asking: why should a basic human need - housing - become a source of corporate price-gauging? This is not just a luxury that people can choose to forego because they can't afford it. It is a fundamental need.

Unfortunately, relief doesn't appear to be coming any time soon. The government suggested two possible decrees, including a temporary ban on evicting vulnerable persons (until 2030) as well as a temporary ban on venture funds purchasing residential properties (until 2028). These are common-sense measures that absolutely should be passed, to ensure that people are treated humanely. Instead, right-wing lawmakers voted down these measures.

That doesn't mean the government should just give up. Sign the petition to demand that the Spanish government continue to re-introduce these measures, and in fact make them permanent rather than temporary, until they pass! Ensure fairness and justice for the people, not profits for the corporations!