Spain’s housing crisis in spotlight with eviction of pensioner, 87

The eviction of an 87-year-old from her Madrid home has highlighted a political paralysis that has thwarted efforts to resolve Spain’s chronic housing crisis, fuelling debate before next year’s election.

Maricarmen Abascal’s 70-year stay at her home in upmarket central Madrid ended on Wednesday when she left escorted on a stretcher, flanked by protesters on one side and police on the other – a traumatic event broadcast live on TV.

Unable to afford a 275-per cent increase to the monthly rent imposed by the real estate firm that owned her flat, she has become the cruellest symbol of a crisis that has stalked Spain for years.

Thousands protested in Madrid, Barcelona and elsewhere on Wednesday night in outrage at the eviction and a market widely denounced as unaffordable for renters and buyers – young and old alike.