There were violent scenes in Madrid on Wednesday as riot police fought with protesters trying to prevent the eviction of a disabled 87-year-old woman from her apartment in the El Retiro district of the city.
asserted
police → be → city
Hundreds of protesters had gathered, many of them overnight, in an effort to block the fourth attempt to carry out the eviction.
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Hundreds → gather → eviction
Activists from the Madrid and Barcelona tenants’ union, and celebrities including the actor Carlos Bardem and the singer and actor Ana Belén, also joined the protest.
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Activists → include → protest
Police fired rounds of teargas and repeatedly baton-charged the protesters as they tried to open a path for the judicial committee to carry out the eviction order, which was eventually executed on Wednesday morning.
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which → fire → morning
The tenant, known simply by her first name Maricarmen, has 50% disability and is about to turn 88.
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tenant → know → 88
Demonstrators chanted “Ayuso’s attic for Maricarmen”, a reference to the scandal surrounding the Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s alleged purchase with public money of a €6.3m residential apartment for her use as a temporary office.
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Demonstrators → chant → office
Behind the locked door, more protesters occupied the staircase leading to Maricarmen’s flat while neighbours handed out snacks and offered the demonstrators the use of their bathroom.
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neighbours → lock → bathroom
When a developer bought the building Maricarmen had lived in for 71 years, she was offered the chance to buy her apartment for €247,000 (£212,000), an impossible sum for a pensioner.
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she → buy → pensioner
They then raised her rent from €500 to €1,650 a month, while she receives a state pension of €1,350.
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she → raise → 1,350
An unnamed “prominent” writer offered to pay the €1,150 difference indefinitely but their offer was ignored.
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offer → offer → difference
In a video recorded this morning by the local tenants’ union, a tearful Maricarmen said: “Good morning, everyone, I thank you for the action you are taking, spending the whole night sleeping in the street.
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you → record → street
This has to be peaceful.
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This → have → ?
“I can still hear all your noise.
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I → hear → noise
A hug to everyone and to all the people who are supporting me in this cruel struggle against a person who wants to make money but who should not forget that they have parents and that one day they could find themselves in the situation that, unfortunately, I am in.”
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I → support → that
The original 1956 contract for the flat was in Maricarmen’s father’s name; when he died, the apartment passed to his wife, and on her death in 2008 was then sublet to Maricarmen.
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apartment → die → Maricarmen
The landlords, Urbagestión SL, successfully argued in the supreme court that this subletting was invalid and that the contract was no longer valid.
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contract → argue → court
Urbagestión SL has been approached for comment.
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SL → approach → comment
Speaking at the scene, Aldo Reverte, spokesperson for the Confederation of Tenants’ Unions, said: “Maricarmen’s case is just one more example of what happens when housing is put in the hands of landlords.
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housing → speak → landlords
The difference is that a lot of people have become aware of her situation and the tenants’ union has shown that we can fight this type of barbaric behaviour.
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we → become → behaviour
However, for all their efforts, the protesters were unable to stop the eviction.
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protesters → stop → eviction
Beatriz Duro, the lawyer representing Maricarmen, said: “The owner isn’t prepared to negotiate or accept any sort of offer.
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owner → represent → offer
We have asked for a place where we can take Maricarmen’s personal belongings.”
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we → ask → belongings
So far this year, 4,000 evictions have been carried out in Spain.
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evictions → carry → Spain
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