Sawt Falasteen - Eviction of pensioner puts Spain housing crisis in spotlight

Maricarmen's 70-year stay at her home in upmarket central Madrid ended on Wednesday when she left escorted on a stretcher, flanked by protesters on one side and police on the other -- a traumatic event broadcast live on TV.

Unable to afford a 275-percent hike to the monthly rent imposed by the real estate firm that owned her apartment, she has become the cruellest symbol of a crisis that has stalked Spain for years.

Thousands protested in Madrid, Barcelona and elsewhere on Wednesday night in outrage at the eviction and a market widely denounced as unaffordable for renters and buyers -- young and old alike.

"The law was upheld and the market worked. But it is the law of the jungle in a broken market, and it is a failure," left-leaning daily El Pais said in an editorial.

In 10 years, the average price of a square metre for rent or purchase has increased by around 50 percent, according to real estate portal Idealista and official figures.

Spiralling prices have particularly affected Madrid, which has topped a world ranking for luxury properties by real estate firm Barnes for two years running.

Residents in the world's second-most visited country often blame short-term tourist rentals such as Airbnb for driving up prices and cutting supply, sparking large protests in hotspots including Barcelona.

Popular anger is also directed at investment funds -- called "vulture funds" by detractors -- accused of acquiring properties with more concern for profit than for affordability.

Part of the problem is a lack of public housing.

Just 1.2 percent of Spain's housing stock is publicly owned, according to OECD figures, far below European peers such as Britain, France or the Netherlands.

Spanish consumer group OCU said finding an apartment in Madrid or Barcelona for less than 700 euros a month was now "extremely difficult", pleading for more "affordable" rental stock.

- 'Tragedy' -

The widespread outrage at the eviction has dominated the political debate as parties sharpen their pitches before next year's general election.

But any political fallout is hard to predict in Spain, where power is decentralised and local politicians often take the flak for perceived policy failures.

The leftist government has spent years trying to reform the market, but powers over housing are primarily held by the regional authorities.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez blamed the conservative-run Madrid city and regional authorities for their role in Maricarmen's eviction, slamming it as an unacceptable "social tragedy".

The Madrid region's right-wing Popular Party (PP) leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso hit back on Thursday, accusing the government of "demagoguery" and "not doing anything" during Sanchez's eight years in office.

In a context of "inflation and loss of purchasing power", "this situation helps none of the parties," said Guillermo Fernandez Vazquez, a professor at Madrid's Carlos III University.

He said the eviction had "again laid bare the failure of all the housing policies of the government" and its "powerlessness", Vazquez told AFP.

Sanchez urged parliament to pass a law that would ban such evictions, but his coalition has no majority and is already showing signs of strain over the incident.

Far-left junior coalition partner Sumar has demanded a rent freeze and the expropriation of Maricarmen's former home.

"There is no legal umbrella that enables the suspension of the eviction of vulnerable people," Maricarmen's lawyer Beatriz Duro told public broadcaster RTVE.

But "these protections that have always existed through royal decrees end up being sticking plasters and insufficient", she added.

However, the PP will also "want to wrap up that matter as soon as possible" amid a row over a swanky Madrid penthouse that Ayuso allegedly acquired with public money, Vazquez said.

Ayuso denies wrongdoing in the case.

A.AlHaj--SF-PST