Spain housing crisis intensifies after evicted elderly woman dies– www.foxnews.com

The death of an 87-year-old woman who was evicted from her longtime home has intensified a political crisis in Spain, where nationwide protests over soaring housing costs have helped force an early election.

María del Carmen Abascal, known as “Maricarmen,” died Wednesday after being hospitalized following her eviction from a Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades, according to The Associated Press.

Her death came just days after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for Nov. 29 following his government’s failure to pass emergency housing measures through Parliament.

The controversy has put renewed pressure on Sánchez’s Socialist Party as Spain grapples with widespread frustration over rising rents and housing affordability.