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The eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal Martín in Madrid, after an investment fund bought her apartment building and more than tripled her rent, has become a symbol of Spain’s rising cost of living and sparked nationwide protests against corporate greed and wealth inequality. Over 600 protesters are now camped outside Madrid’s regional government headquarters demanding new tenant protections.

“What we have is a lot of furious people, enraged people, that are demanding from the government and from the public institutions that they give us give us some sort of solution,” says Sabina Carrau, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which is supporting the “Maricarmen decree” named after Abascal, set to be debated by Spain’s government this week.

Housing in Spain, as in much of the world, “is really connected to tourism, really connected to having and buying a house to make a speculation,” says socialist parliamentarian Tesh Sidi, who is calling instead for the guaranteed right to housing and “the right to have an affordable life.” Sidi, the only Sahrawi member of the Spanish parliament, also comments on Spain’s colonial relationship to Western Sahara and the state of Sahrawi rights and self-determination.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Today we’re broadcasting from London, tomorrow Copenhagen, and the rest of the week from Berlin. But we’re turning now to the Spanish capital of Madrid. A protest encampment over the cost of housing and housing instability has entered its third day as over 600 residents are now camped in front of the regional government headquarters at the Puerta del Sol plaza to demand new protections for tenants. Tens of thousands of people marched in the streets of Madrid Saturday. Demonstrations are also occurring across Spain.

Rising Tenant-Led Movement Aims to Bring Down Corporate Landlords

Protests began Wednesday over the eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal Martín, referred to just as Maricarmen, who was forcibly removed from her home of more than 70 years after an investment fund bought her apartment building and more than tripled, or more, her rent. Police broke down the door of her home and removed Maricarmen, who is 87 years old, on a stretcher as hundreds of supporters gathered outside. She later released a video message to supporters from her hospital bed.

MARÍA DEL CARMEN ABASCAL MARTÍN: [translated] I have not been able to defend my home, but I have fought so others can learn to fight for theirs. My home has been my life, and now I have to leave it behind. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep fighting.

MARÍA DEL CARMEN ABASCAL MARTÍN: [translated] I have not been able to defend my home, but I have fought so others can learn to fight for theirs. My home has been my life, and now I have to leave it behind. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep fighting.

AMY GOODMAN: Protesters, camped in tents with sleeping bags in the Puerta del Sol plaza, say they won’t leave unless meaningful government action is taken.

SARA BARROS: [translated] What we are demanding is that the rental market be regulated, because rents are unaffordable and people simply cannot afford them. There are abuses taking place that can leave vulnerable people out on the street, such as Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman with a disability who has no alternative housing after living in her home for 70 years. LUCAS GARCIA: [translated] We are going to stay here until things change. There’s talk of a decree on Tuesday, and we will remain here until measures that we consider sufficient are adopted. JORGE OTXOA: [translated] We are protesting so that we could claim and so the government listens to us, listens to a society that is tired of speculation, tired of corruption and tired of a system that sidelines the vast majority of the population. This is why we are here.

SARA BARROS: [translated] What we are demanding is that the rental market be regulated, because rents are unaffordable and people simply cannot afford them. There are abuses taking place that can leave vulnerable people out on the street, such as Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman with a disability who has no alternative housing after living in her home for 70 years.

LUCAS GARCIA: [translated] We are........

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