00:02More than 10,000 protesters have demonstrated in Madrid and across Spain to protest the
00:08forced eviction of an 87-year-old woman, Maria del Carmen Abascal, was evicted on Wednesday
00:13from her flat in the center of the Spanish capital where she had lived since 1956.
00:19Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denounced the incident as a social tragedy.
00:23We need the responsibility of the Parliament to convalidate a real law decree that allows
00:29us to, among other issues, evicts such as a older woman who has paid religiously her
00:36rent for 70 years, not to happen in Madrid nor in any other place in Spain.
00:44It was the fourth attempt to evict Marie Carmen and this time officials went through with it after several postponements.
00:50The property had belonged to a private family for decades, but it was sold in 2018 and ended
00:56up in the hands of a property company that invests in real estate.
01:00The company raised her rent to 2,500 euros a month, which is several times higher than her
01:05previous rent and above her pension.
01:07The City Hall Housing Department maintains that Marie Carmen explicitly rejected every accommodation
01:13option offered to her.
01:14She ultimately moved in with relatives.
