Madrid Metro station renamed by activists to honor Maricarmen Abascal

Activists from the collective Redretro Sistema de Transporte Onírico staged a symbolic protest in the Madrid Metro by renaming the El Carmen station to ‘Maricarmen’. The intervention honored Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who became a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis after being evicted from her home of seven decades due to significant rent increases.

Abascal passed away in a hospital on October 7, shortly after an agreement was reached to allow her to return to her home. Her death, following widespread protests over housing rights and the rejection of government housing measures in Congress, has intensified social tension in Spain. In response to the political climate, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for early elections on November 29.

Metro de Madrid removed the stickers used in the protest on Monday afternoon, stating that such actions alter station signage and can cause confusion for passengers.