Elderly Woman's Eviction Leads to Mass Madrid Protests

Abascal's father first rented the flat in 1956, and she stayed there under rent controls after her parents died. In 2018 the building got a new owner, and she could not afford to buy her home. An investment fund, Urbagestión, then raised her rent from 500 euros a month to 2,650 euros. It later cut the rent to 1,650 euros, but her pension still could not cover it. Critics call such companies "vulture funds". Across Spain, incomes have not kept up with housing costs, and experts say tourism and growing city populations add to the pressure. The Bank of Spain says the country was short of about 550,000 homes last year.

The protesters, led by the Madrid Tenants' Union, want stronger protection for renters, rental contracts with no end date, and a ban on evictions when people have nowhere else to go. They say they will stay until new laws are passed. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised a new government order on housing for Tuesday, September 29, but Abascal blames him for losing her home. Many Spaniards have compared the camp to the 2011 protests, when people stayed in the same square for 28 days.