María del Carmen Abascal Martín, known throughout Spain simply as Maricarmen, has died at 87 years of age at the Gregorio Marañon Hospital in Madrid.
El País reports that Maricarmen had lived in the same apartment in Retiro neighbourhood for more than seven decades and that despite continuing to pay the rent, she had been involved in a legal struggle not to leave her home.
Final deportation was executed on September 23rd. EFE reported that day that 87-year-old girl was pulled out of the barella building and sent by ambulance, while dozens of citizens were protesting outside the apartment in support of her.
After her expulsion, her condition prevented her from leaving the hospital.
The case triggered major protests, and Maricarmen turned into one of the most popular faces of the rent debate and the right to refuge in Spain. Reuters reports that its deportation helped fuel protests across the country, while activists also set up a protest camp in Puerta del Sol of Madrid.
The tragic irony is that while Maricarmen was in the hospital, her representatives reached agreement with the owner company so that she could return to her apartment.
According to Europe Press, the deal envisioned a new eight - year contract and lease that would not exceed 30 percent of its net income. But Maricarmen failed to return to the house he had fought for.
Her death has brought reactions to the highest political level as well. AP reports that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed condolences to the family and relatives of 87 years old. In Puerta del Sol, protesters kept a minute of silence in her memory.
Maricarmen's story has already become part of a much larger debate on Spain's housing crisis. She had demanded that protesters continue the battle after her case.
