Maricarmen Abascal, 87, left her apartment on a stretcher. She’d lived there since 1956, 70 years in all. Housing campaigners said an investment company bought the building and sought to raise her rent by 275%. Euronews reported that she was recovering in hospital. After the backlash, the new owners agreed to let her return at a low rent. Her eviction sparked demonstrations across dozens of Spanish cities on Saturday, October 3.
Human Impact
In Madrid, four columns of protesters filled the capital’s main boulevards before converging on Cibeles Square. The Spanish Tenants Union, which organised the demonstrations, said 500,000 people took part. The government’s delegation in Madrid put the figure at 70,000. Activists had camped for about a week in Puerta del Sol, one of the capital’s main tourist squares.
The union’s spokesperson, Valeria Racu, said average rents in Spain had risen nearly 90% over the past decade. In Cádiz, organisers said average rent was about 900 euros and buying a home cost 200,000. The march there ended at City Hall with a manifesto reading. Marches also took place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, alongside rallies in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Tenerife. In Donostia, a protest called by the LAB union with the Tenants’ Union’s backing entered its second consecutive day. Organisers reported similar demonstrations in Lisbon, Dublin, Potsdam and The Hague.
In Valencia, protesters marched toward the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, where the Valencia Real Estate Summit 2026 property investment conference was taking place. Former Cs leader Albert Rivera was among its speakers. Some protesters removed barriers and the police cordon, then threw objects at officers. Police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas, and several people reached the building’s upper part. Four organisations, including the Tenants’ Union and the Housing Union, had called the march.
The Policy Gap
The street pressure came one day after parliament rejected two housing decrees. Sánchez’s government unveiled the long-delayed bills on Tuesday. They aimed to curb speculative practices, extend eviction protections for vulnerable tenants and automatically renew existing contracts. Euronews reported that the first decree received 172 votes in favour and 178 against, while the second received 166 in favour and 184 against. PP, Vox and UPN voted against; Junts refused to back the measures.
Junts spokesperson Míriam Nogueras called the decrees “a poorly drafted law.” Secretary general Jordi Turull argued they would have “discouraged” property sales. The PSOE said the texts already included Junts’ proposals: “What more do they want?” Vice-president Yolanda Díaz said evictions “have three names”: Feijóo, Abascal and Nogueras. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo pledged to seek a legal formula so there would be no further term without a budget.
The Tenants’ Union didn’t spare the political class. “There is an irreparable disconnect between what the people want and what the parties vote for,” it said in a statement. It demands a 50% rent cut, open-ended contracts and the expropriation of homes from vulture funds. Racu said, “Eight days of people power have achieved more than eight years of progressive government,” adding that protesters would keep pressuring politicians “regardless of who governs this country.” She called for a general strike but said no date had been set. Organisers were negotiating with other organisations and wanted the strike to be “historic.” In Barcelona, camp member Luana Rocha told TVE: “We are heading towards a general strike.”
What Comes Next
Sánchez ended his speech on the decrees with a warning: “History will judge you sooner than you think and more harshly than you imagine.” Senior government figures indicated he was considering an early election, while he stayed out of sight and weighed his options. He also faced pressure over the ongoing migrant crisis in Ceuta and corruption cases involving members of his family and close political allies. He’s been in office since 2018, eight years, and protesters accused him of failing to address the housing crisis during that time.
Emiliano García-Page, the Socialist president of Castilla-La Mancha, urged him on Saturday to call an early election, as did the Socialist party’s leaders in Extremadura, the Basque Country and Castilla y León. They said voters needed to be heard. The opposition also called for a vote. Sánchez alone would decide.
The prospect has pushed Spain’s fractured left to consider how to regroup. Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz declined to run for reelection. Health Minister Mónica García and Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun were viewed as frontrunners to lead Sumar. Podemos leader Irene Montero was positioning herself to lead a broader left-wing alliance, as was former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, a longtime housing activist who had signalled a willingness to return to frontline politics at the head of a progressive coalition.
The arithmetic is tight. The People’s Party led polls with 34% and was open to governing with Vox, which stood at 18%. The Socialists had 26% and would need the fragmented left to unite behind an alliance capable of winning enough seats for a coalition. Junts urged the PSOE to negotiate. Teruel was due to hold a demonstration Sunday at 18:30, starting at Plaza del Torico.
Why This Matters: Housing protests in Spain are now tied to a possible early election, and the stakes extend beyond one government. Rents have risen nearly 90% in a decade, while the eviction of an 87-year-old from her home of 70 years shows the human cost of failed legislation. Parliament rejected measures meant to protect vulnerable tenants by margins of six and 18 votes. Similar demonstrations in Lisbon, Dublin, Potsdam and The Hague suggest pressure over housing isn’t confined to Spain. From a social democratic perspective, the test is whether parties can turn street anger into binding tenant protections and public investment before voters turn elsewhere. The polls show the centre-right and Vox ahead of a divided left.