MADRID, Oct 9 — Tens of thousands of mourners marched through Madrid yesterday in tribute to a Spanish pensioner whose eviction sparked national housing protests that culminated in the calling of early elections.
The death of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal on Wednesday produced tears and anger in the Spanish capital’s emblematic Puerta del Sol square, the epicentre of the movement where hundreds are camping in protest.
From Sol, where an improvised shrine of candles, flowers and placards lay yesterday morning, demonstrators headed to Abascal’s former home in the upmarket Retiro district around three kilometres away.
“Maricarmen will be an icon of struggle. She has made us wake up and say ‘enough’. We cannot put up with this situation any longer,” Rosa Marin, a 48-year-old teacher, told AFP.
