It was an image of an 87-year-old woman on a stretcher, wheeled out by paramedics, that sparked a national movement.
asserted
that → wheel → movement
Maricarmen Abascal had lived in her Madrid apartment for more than 70 years.
asserted
Abascal → live → years
She took over the lease her father signed in 1956, and enjoyed capped rent.
asserted
father → take → rent
Then, in 2018, her apartment was bought by an investment firm.
asserted
apartment → buy → firm
The monthly rent soon soared from €500 ($811) to €1,650 ($2,678).
asserted
rent → soar → 1,650
And Maricarmen, a pensioner with a disability whose monthly benefits total €1,350 ($2,192), was forced out in a court-ordered eviction.
asserted
benefits → total → eviction
For Spaniards, the eviction stirred up a deep-seated anger over a housing crisis that has only worsened in recent years.
asserted
that → stir → years
Previously, protests included flotillas in the path of cruise ships and water pistol protests, as locals blamed tourism for housing unaffordability.
But it is Maricarmen's plight that could be the catalyst for real change to protect renters.
uncertain
that → include → renters
Days before her eviction, Maricarmen walked writer David Uclés through her Retiro home of more than seven decades.
asserted
Maricarmen → walk → decades
She showed him the living room where she watched the coverage of former Spanish leader and dictator Francisco Franco's death in 1975.
asserted
she → show → 1975
She showed him the bedrooms where her mother and father drew their final breaths.
asserted
mother → show → breaths
"I've always felt safe here," she told Uclés and Spanish newspaper El País.
asserted
she → feel → Uclés
I wouldn't exist without it."
asserted
I → exist → it
But for the past eight years, it has also turned into a battleground in her David-and-Goliath fight.
asserted
it → turn → fight
After real estate investment company Urbagestión took over Maricarmen's lease in 2018, it first attempted to raise the rent to €2,650 ($4,313) — a 300 per cent increase.
asserted
it → take → 2,650
That was later decreased to €1,650 ($2,678).
asserted
That → decrease → 1,650
What followed was a drawn-out court feud over the new contract.
asserted
followed → follow → contract
Three previous attempts to evict her were blocked by the courts.
asserted
attempts → evict → courts
And with each appeal by Urbagestión, public attention on the case grew.
asserted
attention → grow → case
In June, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called for the pensioner's eviction to be halted and for her to be offered affordable alternative accommodation.
asserted
her → call → accommodation
Madrid City Council said later that Maricarmen had declined its offer of a place in an aged care home.
asserted
Maricarmen → say → home
Then, in late September, the courts ruled in Urbagestión's favour.
asserted
courts → rule → favour
Maricarmen would be evicted.
asserted
Maricarmen → evict → ?
A groundswell of protesters gathered at Maricarmen's address to protect the pensioner.
asserted
groundswell → gather → pensioner
"Fight for your housing because we have the right to it," she told the crowd of hundreds on September 22.
asserted
she → fight → September
The next morning, police officers beat down Maricarmen's door.
asserted
officers → beat → door
Reporters were cordoned off, and several demonstrators were dragged away.
asserted
demonstrators → cordone → ?
Over the past decade, the average rental price per square metre in Spain has almost doubled, reaching €15.10 ($24.62) per square metre in August, according to real estate portal Idealista.
uncertain
price → double → Idealista
The Bank of Spain estimates that the country of about 50 million people is short of 700,000 homes, based on the gap between demand and new construction.
asserted
country → estimate → demand
Social housing in Spain makes up less than 2 per cent of the housing stock, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data.
uncertain
housing → make → data
Protesters did not back down as Maricarmen recovered in hospital.
asserted
Maricarmen → back → hospital
Instead, they built a tent encampment in Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid's busiest landmarks.
asserted
they → build → landmarks
"Maricarmen is one person, but there are many people in this situation," one protester said.
"We want the right to decent housing for all."
asserted
We → be → all
A 43-year-old teacher, Simón de la Riva, said: "Maricarmen has been, in a way, the last straw that sparked this social unrest, but we've been dealing with this whole issue for a long time now."
asserted
we → say → time
The encampment was led largely by Madrid's Tenant Union, with aims set out by spokesperson Valeria Racu.
asserted
encampment → lead → Racu
Either the investment rental falls or the government falls: "Let it be very clear," she said.
asserted
she → fall → ?
Spain is expected to head to an election in less than 12 months.
asserted
Spain → expect → months
Still facing heat over the Ceuta crisis, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has told the public he is working "against the clock" to bring new housing regulations into law.
asserted
he → face → law
The new decrees would be "for Maricarmen and for the millions of Spaniards who are suffering from the housing crisis".
asserted
who → suffer → crisis
"This is not a question of ideology; it is a question of humanity,"Mr Sánchez said.
asserted
Sánchez → say → ideology
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
