María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old Spaniard known as "Maricarmen," has died after becoming a national symbol of the country’s housing emergency.
Abascal, who was elderly and in poor health, was evicted from her home two weeks before her death. Her case drew mass protests, according to reporting by The New York Times.
The public anger surrounding the eviction rapidly moved beyond an individual case. It brought renewed attention to housing insecurity in Spain and helped turn the issue into a central national political question.
The protests also triggered national elections, underlining the extent to which Abascal’s eviction had become a focal point for wider discontent over housing policy and social protection.