Madrid will take to the streets again this Thursday for Maricarmen Abascal. The Tenants' Union has called a march at 8:00 PM in front of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, in Puerta del Sol, to walk to the house on Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street where she lived for more than 70 years and from which she was evicted on September 23. The mobilization will be a tribute to the 87-year-old woman, who passed away this Wednesday.
The march will start from the housing encampment that remains in Sol and will end in front of what was her home, in the Retiro district. The organizers have not detailed the specific streets of the route, which will cross the Salamanca and Retiro neighborhoods. "This afternoon we pay tribute to you by marching from Sol to what was your home for more than 70 years. That one where you only wanted to remain until the end," the Union wrote.
Hasta siempre, Maricarmen! Esta tarde te homenajeamos marchando desde Sol hasta la que fuera tu casa por más de 70 años. Esa en la que solo querías permanecer hasta el final.
— Sindicato de Inquilinas e Inquilinos de Madrid (@InquilinatoMad) October 8, 2026
Nos vemos todas a las 20:00h frente al Oso y el Madroño para marchar juntas. pic.twitter.com/MpVG1VrYJG
The house she could not return to
Maricarmen remained hospitalized since the day of the eviction, when she was carried out of the dwelling on a stretcher and transferred to Gregorio Marañón Hospital. She had resisted four eviction attempts after years of conflict with the property owner. Her case first mobilized her neighbors in Retiro and then thousands of people in Madrid and other cities.
The pressure from those protests eventually led to an agreement with Urbagestión, the owning company, for her to return to the apartment. Maricarmen died before she could return. Her family, her lawyer, and the Tenants' Union lamented this Wednesday that the solution came too late.
On the night of her death, those camped in Sol lit candles, left flowers, and walked to the vicinity of the Congress of Deputies. There they observed a minute of silence. This afternoon they will carry the tribute from the square where the protest grew to the door of her house, following one of the phrases with which she encouraged those who supported her: "Fight for what is yours".
More tributes and a general strike on the horizon
The spokesperson for the Tenants' Union, Valeria Racu, defended this Thursday that Maricarmen's death "could have been avoided" and summarized her organization's complaint with a phrase: "Rentism kills". The collective has also called for a minute of silence this Friday, at 12:00 PM, in workplaces and study centers across the country.
The march comes after Maricarmen's eviction triggered concentrations, a demonstration under the slogan "Not one more Maricarmen," and the indefinite encampment in Sol. The housing movement is now preparing a 24-hour general strike for November 11, called together with trade union organizations to demand affordable rents and wages that allow them to be paid.
Tonight's mobilization will have a final stop in Alcalde Sainz de Baranda. In front of the building where Maricarmen lived since the mid-fifties, her neighbors have already left candles and farewell messages.
