Solidarity with Tenants in Spain! - Poster of the Week
Ni Una Maricarmen Más
Izquierda Revolucionaria - Sindicato de Estudiantes
Digital, 2026
Link to poster
International Hotel Struggle
Rachael Romero, San Francisco Poster Brigade, Inkworks Press
Offset, 1979
San Francisco, CA
16484
Last week, the above poster was used to mobilize tens of thousands of protestors in Spain following the eviction of 87-year-old, Maria del Carmen ‘Maricarmen’ Abascal. Maricarmen has been living in the Retiro neighborhood for more than seven decades and had been fighting the eviction for more than five years. In 2018, Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversión (Urbanization Development and Investment), a real estate investment firm, purchased her apartment building and more than tripled her rent, from €500 ($570) to €2,650 ($3,000). Maricarmen lived under the same lease her farther originally signed in 1956.
Outraged by the eviction, the protestors marched last Saturday, pushing for the ‘Maricarmen decree’ which would stronger tenant protections, measures to combat fraud, housing market regulations, and a ban on evictions when alternative housing is unavailable. The demonstrators included members of Sindicato de Inquilinas e Inquilinos de Madrid (Madrid's Tenants’ Union), people from Greenpeace, members from Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), Sindicato de Estudiantes, the Izquierda Revolucionaria, and other tenants from the neighborhood.
In 2025, Madrid had a housing deficit of 80,000-100,000 and its population is expected to grow by a million over the next 15 years. This population growth is mostly due to international immigration to Spain, primarily from Morocco, Romania, and Colombia. Although the increased immigration has helped support the pension system for the aging population, it has also increased the need for more housing.
Another contributing factor is overtourism in cities like Barcelona, Madrid, and Toledo, where locals are targeting tourists with water guns. In Madrid, Airbnb has converted many homes into vacation rentals, while other historic residential areas are being purchased by real estate investment funds, like in Maricarmen's case. In 2025, Spain set a new record for tourism, with 96.8 million tourists, a 3.2% increase over the previous year. Both real estate companies and the increased presence of Airbnb rentals, are contributing to the increasing rent and property prices. Sound familiar?
The protestors come from various sectors of the Spanish labor force, and are expressing frustration with the current Spanish economic and housing policies which affect millions. This is the second major demonstration of its kind--one was held last November--demanding rent strikes and opposing evictions.
On Tuesday, September 29th, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet agreed to present housing relief measures to parliament, but they were unfortunately rejected. If passed, these measures would have included a moratorium on evictions involving vulnerable people until 2030 and a tax hike for tourist accommodations. In the meantime, Maricarmen will be allowed to return to her home, following her hospitalization. Protestors continue to demonstrate against parliament's continual defense of big corporations.
CSPG's second Poster of the Week features a similar story of gentrification resulting in evictions and mass protests that took place in San Francisco over fifty years ago. The International Hotel was a low cost residential hotel inhabited by 196 people of primarily elderly Filipino and Chinese men. In 1968, residents first received evictions orders, starting a multi-year battle with Milton & Meyer & Company, a real estate developer. In 1977, the residents were forcibly evicted by approximately 400 police in full riot gear who broke through the 3,000 people barricading the hotel on the outside, while over 100 tenants were barricaded inside. It was one of the most violent events in San Francisco's history. The central figure in the poster is Felix Ayson, activist and long-time resident of the I-Hotel. Diane Feinstein, then Mayor of San Francisco, and a supporter of gentrification, is shown in the lower left.
The building was sadly demolished in 1979, but for decades activists and city officials rejected any development plan that did not include low-income housing. In 2005, a new I-Hotel was completed containing 105 apartments for low-income seniors. Today, the building exists as proof that if activists work together with members community, it is possible to have affordable and safe housing.
Solidarity with tenants! Solidaridad con los Inquilinos!
¡Ni una Maricarmen más! Not one Maricarmen more!
Update, 10/08/2026: Last week CSPG reported on protests that broke out in Spain following the eviction of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen ‘Maricarmen’ Abascal. She was hospitalized following the eviction due to anxiety and exhaustion, and died on Wednesday, October 7th, one day before she was to sign a new lease. Although no official cause of death has been announced, many housing activists blame politicians and real estate developers for her passing. The fight does not end with Maricarmen. Activists are continuing to mobilize across the country against stagnant wages, housing crisis, gentrification, and real estate developers. Greed cannot continue to kill!
Maricarmen!
¡Presente!
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