Maricarmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, was evicted from her Madrid home on September 23. She was taken to hospital on a stretcher and died on Wednesday before she could return home under a deal reached while she was hospitalised. No cause of death has been announced.
Outside Spain's parliament, protesters held signs and chanted: "They're not deaths; they're murders." Diana, a demonstrator, told Al Jazeera: "They killed her through heartbreak. Taking an 87-year-old woman out of her home after she had lived in the same house for 70 years, that is killing someone."
Mourners left flowers, candles, handwritten notes and children's drawings outside Abascal's former building. A protest camp in central Puerta del Sol square has been active for days.
The eviction and Abascal's death have become a flashpoint in Spain's housing crisis, with soaring rents and a shortage of affordable homes. The failure of parliament to pass emergency housing measures led Prime Minister Sanchez to call a snap election for November 29.
Inside the Madrid region's legislature, tributes to Abascal sparked arguments. Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the conservative opposition People's Party (PP), accused Sanchez and the Socialists of trying to manipulate emotions for political gain. "We will not allow this attempt to manipulate the emotions of the Spanish people; all of this has happened during their eight years in government. It won't fly," Feijoo said.
The PP, which holds absolute majorities in the Madrid regional and local assemblies, refused to observe a minute of silence in her honour. Instead, hard-left deputies staged one outside City Hall.