The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso.Zipi (EFE)
The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, is ready to exclude representatives of the central government from all official events in the region over which she presides, after she was not invited to the inauguration of the AVE train that will connect Madrid with Asturias will depart from the capital of Spain this Wednesday. This warns a source who enjoys the full trust of the conservative leader, who has already excluded Minister Félix Bolaños from the tribune of authorities at the Dos de Mayo Festival. Although the Ministry of Transport assures that it is applying the same protocol as always, since in fact the León-Oviedo section is inaugurated, the Cabinet of the President of the Community of Madrid disagrees and considers the decision as revenge for the constant disputes between both governments, and they refer to the warning that the Baroness herself had already given at a rally: “We will strike back blow for blow.”
More information
“The government does not invite the President of the Community of Madrid to the inauguration of the AVE Madrid-Asturias presided over by His Majesty the King [Felipe VI], on Wednesday, which the community sees as a serious mistake by the government that will have consequences,” says a Madrid government source. “Mr Sánchez is the one who personally vetoes President Díaz Ayuso. But his wall is just a worm-eaten wall,” he adds. “The community will never invite the government to the events of the Community of Madrid, just as the government of the nation never invites the Community of Madrid,” he warns. And he emphasizes: “Blow after blow.”
Next to Felipe VI. and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will take part in the inauguration by Alfonso Fernández-Mañueco, President of Castile and León, who, like Díaz Ayuso, belongs to the PP, and Adrián Barbón, his counterpart from Asturias. Who is from the PP? PSOE? Its presence, they explain in the Ministry of Transport, is justified because the section that will be inaugurated for high speed will connect León with Oviedo. In fact, the AVE line between Madrid and León was inaugurated in 2015 by then Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
“The usual criteria were applied to this assignment,” says a spokesman for the ministry headed by Óscar Puente. “As always, the presidents of the communities of the newly created section were invited. In this case we have inaugurated a 50 km route between León (Castile and León) and [Oviedo] Asturias,” he continues. “In the last inaugurations (Ourense, Extremadura, Burgos or Murcia), the Community of Madrid was also not present, since in these cases the sections to be inaugurated were also not in the Community of Madrid,” he adds. “To give another example, the president of Castile-La Mancha was not present at the commissioning of Murcia because the inaugurated section did not belong to this autonomous community,” he continues. “The criteria applied are therefore the same as always.”
Since Díaz Ayuso came to power in August 2019, there have been constant clashes between both governments, affecting all kinds of policies: health, financial policy, international policy… even water management in Spain.
What influences the most is what happens next. So you don’t miss anything, subscribe.
Subscribe to
Thus, the President of the Community of Madrid announced this Monday that the regional executive has sued the country’s government before the Supreme Court over the elaboration of the hydrological plan of the Tagus. As EL PAÍS reported in March, the regional administration considers that the decree regulating the use of water from this basin is against the interests of Madrid, which is why it registered the resource on October 4, although it did not give it to it has communicated so far. In this way, the Community of Madrid joins the water war, a battle in which the regions of Castile-La Mancha – where the water is collected -, Andalusia, the Valencian Community and Murcia – where the water is collected – have been involved for years . and that they have also announced their appeal to the Supreme Court.
However, the possibility that the Community of Madrid does not invite representatives of the central government to its events represents an unprecedented step in the confrontation between the two governments. Although there is a precedent that shows that today’s protest will become a reality tomorrow can: At the last celebration of Dos de Mayo, the day of the Madrid Region, the Protocol Service prevented Minister Félix Bolaños from entering the authorities’ tribune from which he was leading the parade because he had not been invited.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter about Madrid here.