MADRID — María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old whose eviction from her longtime Madrid apartment galvanized protests over housing costs, died in hospital on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Her lawyer and housing activists announced her death; they did not disclose its cause. Abascal, widely known as Maricarmen, was removed from her home on Sept. 23 after police cordoned off the street and cleared protesters. She used a wheelchair and was taken to hospital because of her fragile health. Television footage of the eviction prompted demonstrations in Madrid and other Spanish cities. The real estate company that had evicted her eventually agreed, amid public pressure, to let her return to the apartment. Abascal had been expected to go home after leaving the hospital. The Madrid Tenants’ Union said the agreement came too late and described the ordeal as avoidable. Her case became a focal point in a country where rents have risen sharply. The real estate website Idealista says average rents in Spain have nearly doubled over the past decade. Government figures cited in the case show 26% of Spanish renters spend an average of 40% of their income on rent and utilities, compared with 18% of renters across the European Union. Abascal had lived in the apartment for nearly all her life, first with her parents and brother. After retiring in 1998 from work as a secretary for a pharmaceutical company’s board, she spent much of her time in her neighborhood, according to Spanish newspaper El País. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez offered condolences, as did Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez and conservative opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. Protesters gathered at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square after news of Abascal’s death, observing a minute of silence and chanting, “Maricarmen lives, the fight goes on!” The eviction has intensified pressure on political leaders to address housing affordability. Sánchez called an early election for Nov. 29 after his government failed to pass emergency housing measures in Parliament. Spanish unions have also announced a general strike next month, according to the report.