BARCELONA: Public outrage over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman has put Spain's progressive government under immense pressure to tackle the nation's entrenched housing cost crisis.
Around 1,000 protesters have spent the past week camped out in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, the capital's most popular public space, after the elderly María del Carmen Abascal was evicted from her home of seven decades in downtown Madrid on Sept. 23. The protesters say they won't leave until the government takes real steps to protect tenants.
The government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who faces a national election next year, responded with emergency measures aimed at restricting evictions, curbing property speculation and giving renters indefinite leases, among other measures.
But right-wing opposition parties joined forces to reject the ratification of the measures in Parliament on Friday, angering protesters and even fueling rumors that Sánchez could consider a snap election in hopes of rallying the Left behind the housing issue.
Here is what to know about Spain's housing crisis and the political battle over how to address it.
Spain is hard hit due to small rental market
The housing crunch has been simmering for years in Spain, eating into household budgets and angering voters. While many countries have similar circumstances, Spain's poorest and its young are being particularly hard hit because they can't afford to purchase a home and are being squeezed by the country's small stock of rental properties.
The average rent for Spain has almost doubled in the last 10 years. The price per square meter has risen from 8.20 euros (now $9.30) in 2016 to 15.1 euros ($17.15) this year, according to the real estate website Idealista.
Spain's government said that 26% of Spaniards who rent spend an average of 40% of their income on rent and utilities, compared to the EU average of 18% of renters who do so.
Spain ranks near the bottom of countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for government-owned rental properties, which represent less than 2% of its available stock. The European Union average is 8%.
Maricarmen set the spark
Tens of thousands of people periodically march in major cities demanding action from lawmakers and blaming real estate speculators as well as tourist apartment platforms like Airbnb for rising rents.
But a new wave of indignation swept Spain when Abascal, who uses a wheelchair, was carried on a stretcher from her apartment after police cordoned off the street. Televised images of the eviction prompted thousands of people to protest in Madrid and other cities across the southern European country.
"I haven't managed to defend my home, but I have fought so that others can learn to fight for what's theirs," Abascal said in a video recorded from a hospital bed after the eviction.
The Spanish real estate company which had insisted on evicting her in order to rent the property at a much higher price ended up reaching an agreement for her to return to the apartment, her lawyer said, adding Abascal was "happy." She has yet to be discharged from the hospital.
Even with a satisfying resolution for "Maricarmen," as Abascal is now widely known, she remains the embodiment of the struggle against suffocating rental costs. Protesters have carried signs with slogans such as "Not even one more Maricarmen!" and demonstrations have been cropping up in cities across the country.
