Madrid pensioner eviction: Spanish PM calls it tragedy

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen from her Madrid home an unacceptable “social tragedy” on Wednesday, after the case drew national attention to Spain’s housing crisis.

Maricarmen had lived for 70 years in the central Retiro neighbourhood and had always paid her rent, supporters said. The Madrid renters’ union said she had spent years in a legal battle against a real estate firm that acquired her apartment and raised the monthly rent by 275 percent to 2,650 euros, about $3,000.

The union said Spain’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of the firm, clearing the way for the eviction.

Police officers charged and dragged away activists who had camped outside Maricarmen’s building to try to stop the eviction. Health workers used a stretcher to take the wheelchair user into an ambulance as protesters chanted behind a security cordon.

“This is a social tragedy that we cannot accept,” Sanchez told journalists in New York, where he was attending the UN General Assembly. He criticised the conservative-run city and regional governments and said approving an “absolutely necessary” law to prevent such evictions was a shared responsibility for his minority leftist coalition and the rest of parliament.

Amnesty International Spain called the eviction “a violation of human rights” and said it reflected the suffering of thousands of households in Spain.

In an interview with public broadcaster RTVE recorded on Tuesday, Maricarmen called the company “inhuman” and blamed national, regional and city authorities for her situation.

Housing has been a major concern in Spain as demand outstrips supply and rents and home prices rise. Residents in tourist hotspots have also blamed short-term rentals for increasing prices and reducing supply.