Reyes Maroto goes to the lectern. The PSOE spokesman in the Madrid City Council asked the mayor about housing, one of the concerns of the mayor of Madrid in the last election campaign, but not since the start of the new mandate. The regulations regulating tourist housing remain an eternal promise. “It will be ready in a few months,” he announced in September. “It will be ready in a few weeks,” he said a few days ago. 100 days after a year of the last elections, the socialist Maroto criticized the mayor of Madrid on the matter:
-What do you plan to implement to solve the housing problem in Madrid?
José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who felt comfortable in these arguments, was very quick:
– We will continue with the same policy. Thank you.
The PSOE issue was a blow to one of the main problems of the Spanish capital. The housing issue follows a turbulent week for the popular group at City Hall. Speaker Carlos Izquierdo, who is also president of the Hortaleza district – the capital's most populous district with 240,000 inhabitants – published a disturbing message on his social networks last Tuesday. Izquierdo attached a message from the newspaper La Razón: Rent prices are skyrocketing in Latina and Carabanchel.
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The mayor of Almeida understood that this increase was a very positive fact for the neighbors. “Days ago,” he wrote, “the real estate portals pointed this out.” Carabannel It is the district where property prices are rising the most. Now also the rental price. Without a doubt, Carabanchel is an increasingly attractive residential area. #CarabanchelAvanza†. Almeida immediately clarified the matter hours after questions from the press, perhaps just in case:
“We are working to reduce property prices.”
The news of the increase in prices in Carabanchel came from the Fotocasa portal, which in its latest report of February highlighted an increase in housing in the Community of Madrid, which is already 12.8% more expensive than in January 2023. Regarding the 21 districts of the In the capital, rental prices have skyrocketed in '17, with Latina (23.9%), Carabanchel (19.6%) and Arganzuela (19.6%). The presiding city councilors of Latina and Arganzuela have remained silent for the time being. Also in the plenary session this Tuesday.
Almeida has come to the lectern to answer Maroto. “If you didn't exist, you would have to be invented.” And six minutes into the plenary session, the scandal surrounding Koldo, adviser to former minister José Luis Ábalos, who paid hundreds of thousands of euros in illegal commissions for a contract to buy masks in full pandemic took.
“It's 9:22 a.m. and Ábalos still hasn't resigned.” What do you know about the Koldosphere?
Ironically, Almeida continued. “Whoever knows about housing is Koldo, who has increased it.” And he boasted about the data from the Municipal Housing and Real Estate Company (EMVS) of Madrid, the largest public construction company in the entire country. In recent years, EMVS has invested 2,540 million euros in new construction and renovation, albeit unevenly. Despite the budget cut, the city-owned company has tried to stay ahead. The million-dollar rain that the Next Generation European funds were supposed to bring meant a new opportunity for the city council. However, Almeida refused to apply for tens of millions of these funds. In a count of more than 1,200,000 houses in need of renovation, only 24 million were requested by the Community of Madrid for the renovation of 12,000 houses.
The PP, not wanting to interfere in the opposition's dispute over housing, presented this Tuesday a proposal on squats in Madrid in order to “pressure” the government of Pedro Sánchez “to adopt the necessary reforms to combat the crime to combat usurpation”. And there was anger again.
Más Madrid spokesperson and opposition leader Rita Maestre has commented with data. In the capital of Spain you pay 2,141 euros more for a home than anywhere else in Spain. Since January 2023, the rent has risen to an average of 1,300 euros. And for the rooms it is also an average of 500 euros.
“This is the panorama in Madrid,” he said. “And now we're talking about squatting.” According to data from the housing authority provided to this newspaper, there are currently 4,000 squats in the Community of Madrid. This is practically the same as four years ago. And according to Más Madrid, half of this goes to public housing, which is dependent on the Community of Madrid.
Carlos Izquierdo, the PP spokesman and city councilor who surprised everyone a week ago with his statements about how positive the rent increase was, responded to Más Madrid as follows:
– Ms. Maestre, you defend the terrorist organization Hamas.
And to the PSOE spokesman something like this:
“Today was the day to talk about Koldo. We learned today that Koldos was Ábalos' home for three years.
And suddenly the plenary session has become angry again. The President of the Plenum has asked the councilors of Más Madrid to order the following:
“I will not allow this plenary session to be a continuation of the other plenary sessions.”
And the mayor answered from his seat and very smiling:
– Very good. Very good.
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