An 87-year-old woman, whose eviction from her home sparked major protests in Spain and was partly responsible for a snap election, has died.

Maricarmen Abascal was forcibly removed from her Madrid home, where she had lived for seven decades, on a stretcher in September, sparking tense scenes outside and large-scale protests.

Those protests, along with parliament’s rejection last week of decrees aimed at curbing evictions and limiting ⁠rent pressures, prompted Prime Minister ⁠Pedro Sanchez to call an early election for 29 November.

She had been allowed to return to her long-time home, paying a similar rent under a new eight-year contract with the building’s owner following public outrage – however the ‌Madrid’s Tenants’ Union confirmed her death on Wednesday.

Reacting to the news, the Spanish prime minister wrote on X that he sent: “All my affection to Maricarmen’s family and loved ones.

“A hug, too, to all of us who today feel this loss as our own. Rest in peace.”

Thousands of protesters have camped out in Madrid’s main square and in other Spanish cities in recent weeks, demanding new measures to protect tenants and curb the country’s acute housing crisis.