• 28-M The most tense moments of the debate in Madrid: masks, that escrache to Villacís and a photo of Florentino

José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the mayor, located in the center of the set, had to dodge (and did) the bullets of that first and only debate just five days before 28-M. Those on the left -Rita Maestre, Reyes Maroto and Roberto Sotomayor-, as was already predictable, and those on the right of Ortega Smith, with less punch than when he climbs the lectern of the Plenary, something that was also seen coming. What was perhaps not so expected is that Begoña Villacís, the deputy mayor, assumed a kind of squire role, defending the municipal management of the last four years. She dressed next to the councilor as a defender of the work of the Government of the City Council, especially in matters of economy and urban planning. There were ideas and proposals from all sides.

It took an hour for the word Ayuso to appear in the debate (he did it only once through Sotomayor's mouth), while Pedro Sánchez, as hackneyed in the campaign as a throwing weapon of the PP, barely appeared explicitly. He did so through the attacks on Reyes Maroto. "Even Mrs. Maroto has escaped and said that we are the economic engine of Spain. According to her, thanks to the government of Pedro Sánchez. Not really. Thanks to a fiscal and economic model that has been in Madrid for decades," replied Martínez-Almeida calmly, comfortable in that verbal exchange that came from both sides. "You were in a Council of Ministers where Madrid was mistreated," Villacís launched against the former minister, and both share a niche of voters. To which Maroto, in ministerial mode, responded with data from his previous stage: "I have brought money and investments to Madrid. In the face of chaos, I bring solvency." The PSOE candidate showed her fang (more than Juan Lobato), especially with Villacís. Not so much with Almeida, a priori his great adversary. He barely heard from Rita all night.

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28-M.

The most tense moments of the debate in Madrid: masks, that escrache to Villacís and a photo of Florentino

  • Writing: DANIEL J. OLLERO

The most tense moments of the debate in Madrid: masks, that escrache to Villacís and a photo of Florentino

"You are the trio of the Apocalypse," was Almeida's nickname – which kept nerves at bay throughout the night – for Maroto, Sotomayor and Maestre. The leader of Más Madrid attacked from the first moment the councilor, as a great rival for the mayor's office, in a way ignoring Maroto, with whom, according to the polls, she would be tied in voting intention. "Almeida has left 236 million deficit and no Madrilenian can say what the money has been spent on. The streets of Madrid are dirtier, taxes are misused," was one of his verbal blows. "You have ideas, but no ability. He listens to data and gets dizzy," the mayor returned. Rita was the only one all night who got hold of Manuela Carmena. He did so on several occasions. No one else referred to the former mayor explicitly.

The escrache to Villacís

Ortega Smith, for his part, started by showing the agreement of Almeida's investiture that he released four years ago. "We have come in a van to the debate in tribute to the workers who suffer Central Madrid," he explained. "We signed 15,000 homes with Almeida and he has not even done 2,000," he continued. His attacks at the dawn of the debate led to the proposal of the coalition government to the councilor: "Our commitment, that of Vox, remains untouchable." The leader of Vox rescued the Law of yes is yes, the presence of ETA in the institutions and the squatting to stage direct attacks on the parties of the left. His last two words were: "Long live Spain!"

Ortega Smith, Reyes Maroto, Martínez-Almeida, Rita Maestre, Begoña Villacís and Roberto Sotomayor.ANGEL NAVARRETE

While Sotomayor, who was nervous at first, was using the props, via mask, via photo of Florentino Pérez, to try to extract those votes that allow him to enter the Consistory. "You govern based on the zip code," he threw at Almeida, while turning a deaf ear to Villacís' attack on Alejandra Jacinto for that escrache attempt in 2019: "You have to ask for forgiveness." Sotomayor's strategy, perhaps because she had nothing good to take from that battle, was to look the other way. "You are not going to ask for forgiveness because you are petty feminists," the deputy mayor returned to the attack.

"Taxes on the left"

There was talk of trees - 'You have to water what you plant, Mr Almeida', Rita expelled - of course, security and housing, of course. And there came to light the floors of the capital and the squatting. "We have unblocked the urban developments that you unlocked," he threw at Rita Maestre. "You only show empty promises for people with housing, I want to regulate it," said the leader of Más Madrid. "You cannot generate alarmism with squatting," Maroto added. "The fanaticism of the left has no limits," Ortega Smith said. And Sotomayor opted to take heart for a housing law that was received with a wry smile by Martínez-Almeida.

There was tension when referring to the issue of taxes. "The only doubt with the left is not if they are going to raise taxes, but how many and how much they are going to raise them, because yes, we lower taxes for everyone, but they raise taxes for everyone," was the mayor's blow, while Reyes Maroto tried to get out of his hat the resource of lowering rates by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, something that generated the astonishment of Ortega Smith. "We already know what their recipes are and they don't usually bring anything positive."

And Martínez-Almeida, who controls oratory to the millimeter and kept nerves at bay, was coming out in step of each of the attacks, giving a last poisoned message to Villacís: she reminded him that she is vice mayor for an investiture pact with Vox. The councilman showed more firmness and security on that same set than Díaz Ayuso wore a week ago, which, curiously, was only named last night once. There are only five days left to see who the real winner is.

  • Articles Carlos Guisasola
  • Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida
  • Madrid Elections
  • Reyes Maroto
  • Roberto Sotomayor
  • Javier Ortega Smith

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