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"I knew that the vast majority of residents today Palm Sunday did not have the possibility of having an olive branch so I decided to distribute them in the morning, leaving them on the doorsteps or in the windows of the house," says Alejandro Lagar, the mayor of La Parra (Badajoz), a municipality of just 1,300 residents who saw how his initiative was stopped by a Civil Guard patrol, who denounced him for breaching the rules of the State of Alarm. The fine could amount to at least 600 euros.

The alderman only had time to distribute some 450 branches, just two streets, when they were surprised by a couple of Civil Guard agents, specifically from the Roca group (specialized in robberies in the field). The mayor had left around 10.45 am in the City car, accompanied by a councilor - both wearing gloves and masks - and with Easter music playing in the vehicle through speakers to commemorate Palm Sunday.

The agents asked them to identify themselves and although Lagar told them that he was the mayor, the agents continued with the complaint: "I understand them, they follow orders and they told us that they had to transfer the complaint document to the Government Delegation, thus that I accepted it and I couldn't distribute any more branches ".

This was one of the many initiatives that have launched these three weeks of confinement. "It is the only way to entertain people, such as that of congratulating the children's birthdays, that we are also going to the doors of the houses; we also distribute books, we are going to do the shopping for the elderly or the pharmacy for medicines so that they don't go out, because in the town there are many older people, "describes the councilman.

In this way, he ensures that he feels tired because "I only stop at home to shower and sleep" as I am always doing service work for his neighbors, "like many other mayors, who are helpless and doing functions that we surely shouldn't be doing but we do for them, "he highlights.

Several hours after being denounced, the anger and disillusionment over the denouncement have still not gone away. In fact, this afternoon he planned to congratulate two children on their birthday for his birthday - he says 'happy birthday' from the car - but he has decided not to leave the house again. And he doubts if he will continue to buy medicines for the elderly from tomorrow or hand out books. "I do not have any neighbor denounced for breaking the rules during these three weeks, they are behaving very well, and now I am being fined for helping them",

In any case, the councilor warns that at no time has he encouraged the neighbors to leave the houses to collect the branches: "I left them next to the doors, on the thresholds, or at the windows, they did not have to go out and collect them at the street, "he explains. Furthermore, he assures that he has had the odd discussion with those citizens who, for example, wanted to open some stores that were not related to the sale of basic foodstuffs. "Some anger has caused me to prevent them from opening or going down the street, and now this happens to me."

The complaint to the mayor, belonging to the PP; She has been criticized by the president of this party in Extremadura, José Antonio Monago, who has blamed the Government delegate, Yolanda García Seco, who she attributes to having "little shame". In this sense, Monago recalled that what the mayors of the region have done has been "leave their skin to replace the role of the State in their municipalities" since the Government of Spain has been "absent in the work of protection and prevention in the Extremaduran localities as well as in the attention to the citizenship and have been the councilors the ones that have turned upside down in these tasks ".

In this way, Monago recalled that the Extremadura mayors, "among them that of La Parra", have organized "groups of volunteers, have disinfected streets and public buildings, have helped anonymous people have made hundreds of thousands of masks, have They distributed food to the families that needed it most and have coordinated the work of the emergency teams and now, the government delegate, is paying her with complaints that make no sense. "

For all these reasons, "if the attitude persists and the complaint for distributing olive branches continues, the Popular Party of Extremadura will file a complaint against Yolanda García Seco for not having fulfilled her duties and disregarding the high responsibilities she has, leaving thousands unattended from Extremadura, something that has had to be supplied by the mayors. "

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Civil Guard
  • PP
  • Estremadura
  • Spain
  • Jose Antonio Monago
  • Badajoz
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19