Tens of thousands of people protested in central Madrid on Saturday to denounce Spain's housing crisis.

The demonstrators called for better protection for tenants, anti-fraud rules and a ban on evictions without alternative housing.

The march through the center of the Spanish capital was called after an 87-year-old woman, Maricarmen Abascal, was evicted from her apartment where she had lived for seven decades. 

The case highlights the growing pressure on long-term tenants in Spain's major cities, where rental prices have surged in recent years. Gentrification and the shortage of affordable housing have fueled public discontent ahead of a general election next year.

Analysts say tourism and immigration-driven population growth has put pressure on the already limited housing supply in the cities. The Bank of Spain estimated a shortage of 550,000 homes across the country last year.

Protesters camp out in Puerta del Sol

Government authorities estimated that around 25,000 people had shown up to protest against Spain's growing housing crisis. The Madrid Tenants' Union, which organized the protest, said over 300,000 had taken part.

Once the rally wrapped up, some activists set up a protest camp in the city center's Puerta del Sol square with plans to stay put. Some even pitched up tents to stay the night, or until the police forcibly removed them.

Police officers looked on at about a dozen tents, surrounded by thousands of protesters, news agency AFP reported from the scene. 

Rallying around Abascal

The protest was triggered by Maricarmen Abascal's dramatic eviction on Wednesday from the house she had lived in for decades.

Abascal was greeted by supporters as she was removed from her home on a stretcher and loaded onto an ambulance.

"We're here because housing is a problem that already affects all of society, all ages and classes," said protester Dora Garcia, a 55-year-old nurse. "And we can't keep maintaining this. Housing is a right, and we don't have it," she said.

According to Spanish media, Abascal's father first rented the home in the upscale Retiro neighborhood in 1956. After her parents died, she continued to live in the flat, which had a rent cap at the time.

In 2018, the building changed ownership, and Urbagestion, an investment fund, bought the unit, raising the rent from €500 ($570) to €2,650 ($3,018).

Abascal had been offered an opportunity to buy the apartment before this but could not afford it.

The fund later lowered her rent to €1,650, but Abascal could not afford that either. Courts had blocked her eviction three times previously and extensive media coverage turned her into a symbol of the crisis.

"This whole housing situation is heartbreaking. Maricarmen has been, in a way, the last straw that sparked this social unrest, but we've been dealing with this whole issue for a long time now," said protester Simón de la Riva, 43, a teacher.

"It's unacceptable that vulture funds are buying up homes, that people can't afford to live, that entire families are being evicted, and that an elderly woman has been evicted," she added.

Edited by: Karl Sexton

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