There is no political truce despite the fires ravaging the country this summer, which, in recent hours, have focused attention on the southwest of Madrid, Toledo, and Ávila. After the Community of Madrid requested last night the declaration of national emergency “due to the seriousness and simultaneity of forest fires in three autonomous communities” and after the Military Emergency Unit (UME) joined the extinction services, this Friday Minister Óscar Puente has lashed out at the popular governments for this way of tackling forest fires.
“We all agree that the UME is now the new fire extinguishing service for the autonomous communities governed by the PP,” the Minister of Transport wrote on his social media, citing a publication by the Madrid Community Fire Department denouncing a lack of hired personnel. “They reduce taxes for the rich, shrink public services, and then ask the government to solve their problem,” the minister added.
The popular deputy secretary Alma Ezcurra responded to Puente’s words, finding the Minister of Transport’s actions “miserable.” “It is unacceptable that there is a minister, a whole minister of the Government of Spain, insulting the governments that are trying to combat a crisis of this magnitude,” the PP leader stated in an appearance from the party headquarters.
Ezcurra also criticized the initial response given by the Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, after it became known that the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso had requested the declaration of a national emergency, which implies that the direction of the operation against the fires passes into the hands of the central Executive – the Government accepted the request and decreed this situation shortly after. Martín, in an interview last night on Cadena Ser, demanded that the Community of Madrid provide more details about “why” it was requesting the national emergency: “We are talking about something very serious to resolve it in a three-paragraph letter to be able to post a tweet,” he said.
“We already know what this Government does,” Ezcurra reproached, adding: “They [referring to the central Executive] see sides and walls where we only see fire, a fire to fight.” “It is not understood why all political forces do not collaborate towards the same objective,” the popular deputy secretary criticized.
The mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, also reproached the Government delegate for his attitude regarding the request submitted by the Community of Madrid, pointing out that asking for a “justification,” given the current situation, “is difficult.” “When three autonomous communities are involved in this situation, it seems logical and reasonable that the Government of Spain should assume the single command,” Almeida maintained, also criticizing that this single command “is hindered by a merely bureaucratic issue,” referring to the delegate’s response, which demanded more information.
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