After the death of Maricarmen Abascal, the plenary session of the Madrid Assembly erupted in a clash: the left said there “will be no peace” on the streets and Ayuso asked whether they were threatening her (El País, El Mundo). Más Madrid and the PSOE held a minute’s silence without the PP or Vox. Almeida approved a plan for 18,000 protected housing units and accused Sánchez of appropriating her memory. Feijóo spoke of “emotional manipulation.” A Vox MEP asked for an autopsy. Neighbors left flowers at her door.
Housing was already the axis of the campaign; now it has a face and a mourning, and both blocs accuse each other of using it.
The minimum wage increase and the housing decrees will be decided before Nov. 29; it is worth following the deadlines.
For the left, her death proves that the housing crisis has a human cost and demands public intervention.
For the PP, the Government is exploiting a tragedy; Almeida and Feijóo speak of appropriation and manipulation.
The phrase “there will be no peace” and the call for an autopsy are two excesses of the same day. What matters to voters is what each party will do about rents and evictions; that debate has not yet begun.
El País, El Mundo, ABC, La Vanguardia, Europa Press · Oct. 8, 2026
Maricarmen’s death sets the pre-campaign ablaze. Uproar in the Madrid Assembly
The left warns that “there will be no peace” on the streets; Ayuso asks whether she is being threatened. Feijóo speaks of “emotional manipulation.” Neighbors leave flowers at her door and the Nov. 11 strike gains support.
A day after the death of María del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction set off the early election, Madrid politics lived through a morning of high tension. In the plenary session of the Madrid Assembly, the left-wing opposition warned that “there will be no peace on the streets of Madrid.” Isabel Díaz Ayuso replied: “Are you threatening us?”, according to El País. The PP denounced “physical threats,” El Mundo reported. Ayuso accused the Government of giving flats to “lovers” and not to “women like Maricarmen,” ABC reported.
Más Madrid and the PSOE held a minute’s silence for Maricarmen at the doors of the Assembly, without the PP or Vox, according to ABC. At City Hall, an express plenary session marked by her death approved a plan by Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida to convert offices and lodging spaces into 18,000 protected housing units, El Mundo reported. Almeida accused Sánchez of having allowed the eviction and of appropriating her memory, ABC reported.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo said the PP will not allow “the attempt at emotional manipulation of citizens,” according to El País. Minister Óscar López said the hate messages against Maricarmen “do not represent Spain,” ABC reported. El País devoted a piece to those who attacked her on social media during her eviction, with insults about her life and her pension. A Vox MEP asked for an autopsy to be performed on her, La Vanguardia reported; the family has not disclosed the cause of death and there is no published indication that it was suspicious.
On the street, neighbors left flowers, candles and messages at the door of her home in Retiro: “Let housing cost no more lives,” according to Europa Press. The artist TvBoy dedicated a mural to her in Barcelona and left-wing MEPs held a minute’s silence in Strasbourg, ABC reported. The Andalusian protest camps are preparing new mobilizations, according to ABC.
Meanwhile, the rule that carries her name in the press began to be applied. One of the two housing decrees came into force on Thursday, as ABC had previewed, and Expansión explained what the residential market looks like with it. The second, on the extension of rental contracts, still depends on the Standing Committee (Diputación Permanente), which has until Nov. 14.
The general strike on Nov. 11 is gaining support: the housing unions of Euskal Herria joined, according to Europa Press. The Basque employers’ association Cebek said it is not “acceptable” for companies to pay the cost of a strike that “smells more of politics than of labor.” And Yolanda Díaz gave the experts until the All Saints’ long weekend to recommend a minimum wage increase, intending to approve it before Nov. 29, according to El País, El Mundo and Expansión.