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Protesters camp during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. Manu Fernandez/AP hide caption
MADRID — Protesters outraged by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman camped overnight in Madrid's historic Puerta del Sol plaza, where more demonstrators — including multigenerational families — joined them on Sunday for a second day of protests over Spain's housing crisis.
Tens of thousands marched through Madrid on Saturday to protest the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal from the apartment in the upscale Retiro neighborhood where she had lived for more than seven decades.
The demonstrators are demanding stronger tenant protections, measures to combat fraud and a ban on evictions when alternative housing is unavailable. Many refused to leave after Saturday's march and pitched tents in Puerta del Sol for the night.
"The housing situation is unsustainable," said Natalia Navarro, a 27-year-old actress who was among those camping out at the plaza. "We are all out on the street because we are fed up."
"The wave of indignation and anger that has been unleashed is now unstoppable," said Alicia del Río, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, which led the protests.
"We will remain here" until the government passes new laws, including indefinite rental contracts, and stops evictions like Abascal's, del Río told journalists at the plaza on Sunday. Spain's Socialist-led government is expected to announce new measures in its weekly cabinet meeting next Tuesday.
Protesters camp during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. Manu Fernandez/AP hide caption Eviction 'sparked this social unrest'
On Sept. 23, Abascal was carried from her apartment on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance as supporters — who had tried unsuccessfully to stop the eviction — chanted her nickname, "Maricarmen."
"I haven't managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what's theirs," Abascal said in a video recorded from her hospital bed after the eviction.
Protesters camp during a protest following the eviction last Wednesday of 87-year-old Maricarmen to demand stronger laws to protect renters at Sol square in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept.