Evicted pensioner Maricarmen Abascal, heart of Spain's housing protests, dies

An 87-year-old Madrid woman whose eviction triggered nationwide protests over Spain's chronic housing crisis and a political debate that culminated in early elections died on Wednesday, a tenants' union said. "We are sorry to announce that Maricarmen passed away today," the Madrid Tenants' Union said in a statement about Maricarmen Abascal, adding that her cause marked "a turning point in the history of this country". Read moreSpanish PM Sanchez calls snap election as pressure mounts over housing crisis Abascal became a symbol of Spain's housing market on September 23 when she was evicted from her life-long Madrid home on a stretcher after the real estate firm that owned the apartment drastically hiked the rent. Outrage at her eviction triggered national demonstrations, with hundreds of people camping in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square in the most symbolic of the protests. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: Spotlight AFP - OSCAR DEL POZO 10:53 The movement pi...