Anger grows across Spain after elderly woman evicted from her home of 70 years

An 87-year-old Spanish woman was forcibly evicted Wednesday from the Madrid apartment she had lived in for more than 70 years, in a case that highlights a growing housing crisis in the country.

Video showed Maricarmen Abascal, who is a wheelchair user, being taken out of the building in the Spanish capital’s Retiro neighborhood on a stretcher and driven away in an ambulance.

Hundreds of supporters had gathered outside the building overnight to protest her eviction, with dozens of police officers holding them back as some tried to stop the eviction from going ahead. In a social media video posted Friday by the Madrid tenants union, Abascal gave thanks for the support she had received.

Abascal’s lawyer, Beatriz Duro, described the force used in the eviction as “completely disproportionate and unnecessary” and decried the intransigence of the building’s owners.

The case has brought new attention to an ongoing housing crisis in major cities across Spain, as gentrification has caused rents to skyrocket and the stock of affordable housing to shrink, leading to growing public anger.

Tenants unions and other housing groups on Thursday held protests and rallies in 16 cities, including Granada, Logroño and Zaragoza. The Madrid tenants union plans…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world