International press reports death of Maricarmen, 87-year-old icon of Spanish housing crisis

Maricarmen passed away on Wednesday, at the Gregorio Marañón hospital in Madrid, where she had been hospitalised for several days.

The BBC describes Maricarmen as "a symbol for Spain's housing crisis" and notes that her case was a key factor behind PM Pedro Sánchez's decision to dissolve Parliament and bring forward the general election, which is due on 29 November. "Spanish pensioner whose eviction sparked nationwide protests dies," reads the BBC's headline.

Other UK media outlets, such as The Telegraph and Sky News, have also picked up the news and featured it as one of the day's top stories across the continent.

The New York Times says that the outrage over Maricarmen's eviction has marked a "turning point" in Spain's recent history. The Washington Post has opted for a feature analysing how the case precipitated the calling of an election.

CNN in Spanish also highlights that Maricarmen's case has led thousands of people to take to the streets in recent days in Spain's major cities. "Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman who became a symbol of the housing crisis in Spain, has died," the headline reads.

"The case has sparked outrage and anger across the country. At the demonstrations, participants held up banners reading: 'We are all Maricarmen'," German newspaper Der Spiegel says.

"The plight of this pensioner has highlighted, in a particularly stark way, the severity of the housing crisis and the soaring rents in the country," the article says.

Austrian newspaper Der Standard has also run a breaking news story with a brief paragraph on Maricarmen's case. The New York Times, the BBC and the major news agencies, such Reuters and AFP, have done the same.

According to French newspaper Libération, "the violence of the forced eviction has been too painful for this 87-year-old woman, who was evicted from her flat in Madrid due to property speculation". The newspaper notes that Maricarmen had obtained permission to return to her home but remained in hospital following her eviction due to extreme exhaustion.

"Her story sparked mass protests in Spain, putting pressure on the minority left-wing government to take urgent measures, such as tightening restrictions on evictions or ensuring the automatic renewal of tenancy agreements," Le Monde's story says.

Argentine newspaper La Nación describes Maricarmen as an "icon of the protests". It says that "the sight of her being carried out of her flat on a stretcher by court officials, while numerous demonstrators showed their support for her in the street, sparked a wave of outrage across Spain".

"The images sparked a strong reaction across the country," Brazilian broadcaster O Globo says. "She sent a final message to the protesters from her hospital bed: 'Keep fighting'," Euronews' website story recalls.

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