This was the mayor’s reaction to the announcement by the Government delegate in the Madrid region, Francisco Martín Aguirre, during an interview with Servimedia. Almeida compared the situation with the “extremely serious incidents” during the Vuelta a España cycling race, when the Government delegate “refrained from condemning those incidents” and “failed to properly protect the National Police.” The mayor said the Government was seeking to “target those who guarantee order and security under a court order.”
“It is incomprehensible that the Government delegate, who is responsible for maintaining order and security on the streets of Madrid, should cheer on protesters instead of protecting the National Police as they carry out their duties, especially when acting under a court order, as in this case,” Almeida said.
Responding to criticism from the left over Maricarmen’s eviction, the mayor pointed out that “there have been many more evictions this year in Catalonia than in Madrid,” although he has never mentioned Catalan leaders such as the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa. “I have never heard Mr. Sánchez say that, because criticizing Ayuso and Almeida is acceptable, but the evictions taking place in Catalonia are secondary for Mr. Sánchez,” he said.
Along those lines, the mayor questioned “why Sánchez is prime minister” if he says he has “no responsibility for the blackout,” “was unaware of what happened in Ceuta” and “can do nothing about Mari Carmen’s eviction.” He said the city government had been in contact with Mari Carmen “for a long time” and had offered “telecare, occupational therapy, home assistance and accommodation.”
In this regard, he challenged the Spanish Government to say “who has contacted Maricarmen” and “what actions the Spanish Government has taken on Maricarmen’s behalf.” He concluded that, for the government, Maricarmen “is not a person going through a tragedy, but an electoral decoy.”
Finally, he stressed that for the city government this was “a matter of vulnerability” and that they would not use her “as an electoral decoy,” but would treat her with “dignity as a person” in the face of “the terrible situation she is going through at this time.”
