Spain is rapidly becoming a serious hazard for international investors. Instead of upholding property rights, the country’s political climate now drives its institutional decay, threatening to compromise a fragile legal system.

This danger was on full display on Sept. 23, when Madrid police executed the lawful eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal — an enforcement action that populist forces quickly weaponized into a false narrative of “fascist tyranny.” In truth, the woman’s legal tenancy expired in November 2007.