TIMELINE: HOW THE HOUSING CRISIS TURNED INTO A SNAP ELECTION IN SPAIN

Update 7th October: Maricarmen Abascal died.

Video report from CNN

:

Timeline: 23-Sept/5-Oct below

 

Click on pic below to get more info about how it all started on a previous post

Video from ITN News: 

HOUSING CRISIS IN SPAIN: WHEN PROFITS COME BEFORE HUMANITY [Updated with THE TENT CAMP PROTEST @ PUERTA DEL SOL, MADRID]

Taken from "Everything is Boffo" Facebook

 Outside an apartment building in Madrid's Retiro district is still full of neighbours, activists, and cameras. And the story of what happened has become the most human illustration of Spain's housing crisis we have seen all year.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

𝗠𝗮𝗿í𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 — known to everyone as Maricarmen — 𝗶𝘀 𝟴𝟳 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱. This morning she was evicted from the flat at 46 Alcalde Sainz de Baranda Street in Madrid's Retiro district, where she had lived since 1956.

This was the fourth attempt to evict her. Court officials went through with it this time after several postponements. Police cleared hundreds of people who had gathered in an attempt to stop the eviction.

Seventy years. She moved in when Eisenhower was President of the United States, when Franco still governed Spain, when the apartment building was new. She has watched everything that has happened to this country from that address. And this morning, at 87, she was removed from it by court officials while hundreds of her neighbors stood in the street trying to stop it from happening.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻.

An 87-year-old woman was forced out of her Madrid apartment after her rent shot up under a new landlord. Police carried out the eviction despite protests and last-minute offers to pay. The case shows how vulnerable tenants are in Spain's rental market.

The building was purchased by an investment fund. The new landlord dramatically increased the rent. Maricarmen could not meet the new price. The legal process that followed took time — three previous eviction attempts were postponed because of her age and the community pushback — but the fourth attempt was carried out this morning regardless.

This was the fourth attempt to evict her. The first three were postponed because of her age and the pushback from neighbors and activists.

The UN had also opposed the decision to evict her. Madrid's Tenants' Union had been present throughout. Left-wing parties across the spectrum have spent the morning calling for emergency housing legislation responses.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 — 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱.

We have been covering Spain's housing crisis for most of this year. The record rental costs. The property raffle where 40,000 people entered for a €10 ticket. The worst cities to find an apartment. The government's €7 billion housing plan. The data showing that 70% of net wages in some cities goes to rent.

Maricarmen is not a statistic. She is a person with a name and a face and 70 years of daily life in one apartment in Madrid. She is also, as of this morning, a person without a home.

What makes this case the one that is stopping people today — more than the data, more than the policy debates, more than the political arguments — is its complete clarity. An 87-year-old woman. Seventy years in one home. An investment fund. A rent increase she could not meet. Police at the door on the fourth attempt.

There is nothing complicated about that sequence. It does not require expertise in housing law or economics to understand what it means. And that is why the street outside her building has been full of people since early this morning.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.

We have reported multiple times this year that Spain's rental market is at an all-time high average cost. That Bankinter's own economists said renting is no longer viable for domestic demand. That Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, and Málaga are all in crisis.

What Maricarmen's case adds to all of that data is the human endpoint of the trajectory. When investment funds buy residential buildings and raise rents to market rates, the people who cannot meet those market rates leave — or are removed. The legal process that removes them is real, functional, and being carried out by court officials in Retiro at 11am on a Wednesday in September 2026.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄.

It has not been confirmed where she will go. Activists and neighbours have said they will ensure she has somewhere to stay. The formal social services response from the Madrid regional government has not been publicly communicated.

𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴: 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 — 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 87-𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘜𝘕 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 (𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴.𝘤𝘰𝘮, 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 23, 2026) — 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 / 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 — 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥 (𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯.𝘤𝘰𝘮, 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 23, 2026) — 𝘌𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 / 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 — 𝘔á𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭.𝘦𝘴, 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 23, 2026)

+ info @ "The Guardian":

Eviction of 87-year-old puts Spain’s deepening housing crisis in the spotlight

Video from The New York Times:

+ info click on pic

Update October 7th, link on pic below to more recent post on this blog about the topic:

PEACE FOR PARIS (& THE REST OF THE WORLD...)

In the aftermath of last night's terrorist attacks in Paris, we want to show our complete disapproval and condemnation to this barbaric atrocity to human lives. Our feelings and condolences go to the families of the victims and the injured for a quick complete recovery.

Coruña's Tower of Hercules, too.

+ info:

PARIS ATTACKS @ "THE GUARDIAN"

The Hidden Danger of Adding the French Flag Filter to your Facebook Profile Picture

Galician version of this post  ArquivosDoTrasno.

CLOCKS GO BACK

Last night we've been able to sleep one extra hour because our clocks and watches have been adapted to the winter time-table, going back one hour. So we'll have lighter mornings and darker evenings until the winter arrives... This has happened in Spain and in the rest of Europe, UK included.

Why does this happen? Here's +info about Britain from the Bristish newspaper The Telegraph: 

Clocks go back. What is Daylight Saving Time and why do we do it?

+ info: Everything about time @ timeanddate,com.

Video:

SPAIN'S LOCAL & REGIONAL ELECTION RESULTS SEEN FROM BRITAIN

This is the map that shows the results of yesterday's local elections held in Spain, and below you've got the links to the reports seen from a British point of view in the nespaper THE GUARDIAN. Link to the reports and read them, you can see how well you understand when the context is known.

Enlace / Links:

Spain's indignados could rule Barcelona and Madrid after local election success

Spanish regional elections will be critical test for broken two-party system

25th ANNIVERSARY "RAFAEL DIESTE" PLURILINGUAL SECONDARY SCHOOL: INTERVIEWING OUR HEADMASTER

About to start the week when we'll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the "RAFAEL DIESTE" Plurilingual Secondary School, our headmaster L. Fernando Gómez Sal has given an interview to Ivan Aguiar for the local newspaper "La Opinion de A Coruña". You can either read it here via this link or translated into English below.

Luis Fernando Gómez Rafael Dieste Secondary School's headmaster

'The problem we have with our students is motivation'

To mark the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the opening of Rafael Dieste Secondary School, the headmaster, Luis Fernando Gómez, explains which are the challenges the teachers must face to keep up with the quality of our teaching. He also comments on the experience of being a plurilingual school. 

-Which are the aims for this school in the next few years?

- The school sets to continue with the same educational path for the future as during the latest years improving the education our students receive. Assisting both the students who have problems and those who don't want to go onto university studies, offering also quality education.

- What's the exprerience of adapting the school to a plurilingual educational system been like?

-Our school offers some subjects in English for all students. Specifically our school teaches Physical Education, Technology and Music in English. Students don't have great problems. They have to adapt in the lower levels. Soon they get used to it and it's a complement to their training which we think is very useful.

- How do you see the educational scene at the moment?

-The situation of education is a reflection of our current society, which is going through difficult moments, but I'd emphasise that thanks to the teachers' effort, we achieve a respectable and appropriate educational level.

- Has the level of students  lowered compared to other years?

- I don't think student's levels have worsened- I haven't got a pessimistic view of education. We have to take into account that we have a very varied group of students, which have very different interests and perspectives. On the one hand we assist students who only want to get the school graduation and others who want to go onto university. So I don't think the level of education has lowered in recent years, but we do have the difficulty of managing students who have different interests and aims for their future.

-Is it difficult to maintain the level when there are students who want to give up studying and others want to carry on?

-The problem we have with our students is motivation. In our classrooms we find students who are completely unmotivated together with others who are completely aware that they are at school to prepare themselves for their future. It's difficult to get these unmotivated students to be part of the school and get a suitable training. We try to make them part of it every day.

- What's going to happen at the commemorative event on November 6th?

- We're going to bring together people who have belonged to our school throughout these 25 years. Former teachers, students and some educational authorities and managing staff from other schools. Current and former members of parent associations will also attend.

Galician version of this post @ ArquivosDoTrasno.

GREAT FRONT PAGE ON TODAY'S "THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY": HERE'S THE NEWS, NOT THE PROPAGANDA

Last Friday another Western citizen (the fourth) was killed by the Islamic State. Alan Henning, a taxi driver father-of-two, who had travelled to Syria to deliver aid, was beheaded in a video on Friday. On Saturday, many newspapers chose old images from him, rather than the ones from the video, in the orange jumpsuit, waiting to be killed. But today, "The Independent On Sunday" has nailed it with the front page we show. No publicity for the terrorists.