Maricarmen, the evicted elderly woman, and the battle of narratives on Twitter

Maricarmen, the evicted elderly woman who died after returning home

The death of an 87-year-old woman who had been evicted and died shortly after returning to her home has sparked a political storm on Twitter. The case, which coincides with the pre-election campaign, has been used by both sides to blame the adversary. The left points to vulture funds and the right; the right responds that the eviction was carried out under the laws in force of the coalition government. In the middle, an uncomfortable fact: the woman had returned home and her death occurred afterwards.

What peine to Maricarmen?

Maricarmen, 87, was evicted from her home under the 1994 Urban Leasing Act (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos), according to legal references circulating in the debate. After the eviction, the woman returned to her house but died shortly afterwards. The coincidence with the election campaign has turned the event into a battleground. On Twitter, the case has been interpreted as a "terrorist attack" by the "reaccionariopobres", a term that mixes class and ideology and has generated its own controversy.

The term "reaccionariopobre" and the class war

The expression "reaccionariopobre" has spread on social media to designate right-wing voters with low incomes. In the debate it is defined as "a poor person who has realised that the red PPSOE is interested in them remaining poor forever" or "a right-wing worker". The accusation of classism was immediate: "the izquierda has now become more classist than those from La Sarracena and Pozuelo combined", one reads. Others joke that the left abandons the poor for other groups. The term, in any case, has served to divert attention from the central fact: the death of an elderly woman.

The battle for political responsibility

The eviction was carried out under the 1994 Urban Leasing Act, enacted by the PSOE under Felipe González's government, as stressed in the debate. However, the current government is a coalition between PSOE and Sumar, with Sánchez at the helm for eight years. The right argues that the responsibility lies with the current Executive for not having modified the law. The left, for its part, blames vulture funds and right-wing greed. In the middle, the question of whether the death of an 87-year-old woman should be used as a weapon.

The plot twist: the return home

One of the most commented aspects is that the woman had returned to her house before dying. "A very convenient death. She had returned home. The story was over... it was a great plot twist", it is said with sarcasm. Others point out that "perhaps taking an 87-year-old sick woman here and there and to hundreds of protests and other stuff had nothing to do with it". The discussion about whether the return home invalidates the narrative of the eviction as the cause of death is served.

The war of figures: 11M, Ayuso, Mazón

The initial message compares Maricarmen's death with other tragedies: "11M of Aznar with Bush's help = 200 dead, Ayuso = 8000 dead, Mazón = 300 dead, Trillo = 90 dead, Moreno = another shouter of dead". These are figures thrown without context and part of the political scuffle. The comparison with 11M and the management of the DANA in Valencia (attributed to Mazón) serves to frame the event as a crime of the right. On the other side, it is responded that "this time the PSOE has only killed an elderly woman, instead of a train full of people".

The electoral context

The coincidence with the pre-election campaign has amplified the case. "There's going to be a mess", it is anticipated. Some see an orchestrated "psyop": "I never thought they could take the psyop so far". Others, more sceptical, believe that "everything is too overacted, people are not that stupid". Maricarmen's death has become a symbol before all the details are known. And as in so many cases, the fish memory will make it history in three days.

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The death of an 87-year-old woman after an eviction and a return home is a tragic fact. That it is used as political ammunition on Twitter says less about the right or the left than about the degradation of public debate. In the end, the only figure that matters is that of a life.