87-year-old Spanish woman evicted by investment fund dies; protesters blame eviction-related stress for her death

According to France 24, Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction by an investment fund sparked nationwide housing protests in Spain last month, has died. France 24 reported the news under the headline "They killed her."

France 24 reported that Abascal was evicted from the home where she had lived for over 70 years. The residence had previously been acquired by an investment fund. The eviction sparked large-scale protests in multiple parts of Spain last month. After the news of her death was announced, some of those who had participated in the protests gathered again. They told France 24 that they believe the stress caused by the eviction led to her death. "They killed her" is a direct quote from the protesters, and the accusation targets not just an individual eviction but the power structure that has financialized housing.

Several key facts surrounding this incident remain undisclosed: the identity of the investment fund that acquired the residence is unknown; the specific medical cause of the elderly woman's death has not been officially confirmed; and the Spanish government and relevant local authorities have also not made public statements.

Abascal's ordeal escalated from an individual case to a national issue precisely because it condensed the conflict between the engulfment of housing by financial capital and the most basic right to shelter of ordinary people into the experience of an elderly woman who had lived in her home for over seventy years.