Irene Montero puts herself in the front row before the Police to try to stop Maricarmen's eviction: "How can this happen in this country?"

Irene Montero stood this Wednesday in the front row, facing the National Police cordon and a few meters from the doorway where hundreds of people were trying to prevent Maricarmen's eviction. The Podemos MEP remained with the activists, demanded the presence of the person in charge of the operation, and demanded explanations for the force used against those defending an 87-year-old woman.

“Where is the police command?” she repeatedly asked while agents kept access to the home closed. One of the police officers then approached to warn her to stop “inciting the masses.” Montero identified herself as an MEP and explained that she was observing the operation. “I don't care, she's a citizen like the rest,” the agent replied. Montero invoked her institutional status while asking to speak with the command and trying to scrutinize a police action that was being questioned by activists, Maricarmen's lawyers, and numerous witnesses.

The Podemos leader stood up on a morning marked by charges, pushes, and the eviction of those who remained seated in front of the doorway. The agents lifted the concentrated individuals one by one and cleared access to the building so that the judicial commission could execute the eviction.

Montero had attended along with the general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, and had mingled from early on with neighbors and militants of the housing movement. Her presence contrasted with the absence on the ground of those responsible for the owning company and the administrations that had known about Maricarmen's situation for months.

After the eviction was completed, the former Minister of Equality published a video in which she denounced the chain of decisions that allowed a vulnerable woman to be expelled from the house where she had spent practically her entire life. “How can this happen in this country?” she asked.

Montero has pointed to Urbagestión, the judicial resolution, and the Government for the police deployment. “The Police should be protecting Maricarmen from speculators,” she defended before regretting that those who benefit from these real estate operations rarely have to show their face or face the human consequences of their decisions.

“Today, obviously, the priority is to take care of Maricarmen. But none of those responsible for this eviction can go unpunished,” she warned.

A strong deployment to evict an 87-year-old woman

More than 400 people had gathered since the previous night on Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street, in Madrid's Retiro district. Neighbors, members of the Tenants' Union, and representatives from the cultural world had camped in front of the building to accompany Maricarmen and try to stop her fourth eviction.

The National Police began to remove the tents and clear the street after seven in the morning. The deployment included more than a dozen vans and several rows of agents. During the operation, there were charges and pushes, while the concentrated people chanted “Maricarmen stays,” “this lady could be your grandmother,” and “Ayuso's penthouse for Maricarmen.”

The Government Delegation in Madrid subsequently maintained that the Police were acting under judicial mandate and that the institution was not directing the operation. It also expressed its rejection of the eviction. The Tenants' Union, however, pointed to the Government delegate, Francisco Martín, and demanded accountability for the forcefulness of the intervention.

Maricarmen left her home on a stretcher around one in the afternoon. Paramedics from the Municipal Emergency and Rescue Assistance Service (Samur) placed her in an ambulance and transferred her to Gregorio Marañón Hospital, while the concentrated people shouted that she was not alone.

The woman has a recognized disability of 50%, receives a pension of about 1,350 euros, and had been living in that dwelling since 1956. Her father then signed an old rent contract that later passed to her mother and, after her death, to her. Maricarmen paid around 500 euros monthly, in addition to the Property Tax (IBI) and other expenses. After the building changed ownership, Urbagestión came to demand 2,650 euros from her and later proposed a rent of 1,650, still higher than all her income.

The company has rejected the different solutions proposed in recent days. The Ministry of Housing offered to buy the property or compensate part of the rent, while a writer who requested to remain anonymous committed to covering the difference in rent. The property also did not accept postponing the eviction for a month for humanitarian reasons.

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had requested a precautionary suspension of the eviction until an adequate housing alternative was guaranteed. Podemos considers that executing the eviction ignoring this international request turns what happened into an illegal eviction.

Enrique Santiago takes the fight for housing to the Government

The Sumar deputy and United Left leader Enrique Santiago has also been with Maricarmen since early morning. He has stood among the protesters and has denounced that the administrations have allowed this outcome to be reached despite knowing for months the physical and emotional deterioration of the affected person.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that public administrations do not guarantee the right to housing,” he declared. Santiago recalled that the owner is a company that acquired the property as an investment and that Maricarmen lacked an alternative place to live.

“We are fighting for the right to decent housing, but in this case, we are also fighting for her right to life,” he warned. The deputy assured that he will continue to pressure within the Council of Ministers to recover protection measures for vulnerable families.

Ione Belarra has strongly criticized Pedro Sánchez's Government. The general secretary of Podemos has described the police deployment as "totally disproportionate" and has questioned the use of force against activists who were defending the constitutional right to decent housing.

"It has been brutal violence against the activists and against Maricarmen herself," she denounced. Belarra has also demanded that the PSOE and the PP stop exchanging reproaches while the different administrations shirk their responsibilities.

Podemos demands to recover by decree the prohibition of evicting vulnerable people and to apply an immediate reduction in rents. The party argues that the Council of Ministers approve the protection even if it still lacks a guaranteed majority in Congress and that, if the text falls again, the Executive renew it monthly until a stable solution is found.

The proposal increases pressure on the socialist wing of the Government, which has postponed the new housing decree due to difficulties in obtaining the support of Junts and Podemos. Belarra has made it clear that her four deputies will reject any text that includes new tax benefits for landlords as a bargaining chip to convince the Catalan right.

While that negotiation remains blocked, Maricarmen has already lost her home. She left on a stretcher, on her way to the hospital, after seven years of legal proceedings and four eviction attempts. Irene Montero remained on the other side of the cordon pointing out those who allowed it to get to that point. "Today it's time to take care of Maricarmen; tomorrow, none of those responsible will go unpunished."