PP and Vox have pushed through this Thursday in the Madrid Assembly a censure motion against the head of government, Pedro Sánchez, whom they accuse of his “responsibility” in the current situation of the rail system following the collision of two trains in Urda (Toledo), an incident in which 69 people died.
The initiative has been debated on the basis of a Non-Law Proposal (PNL) filed by Vox in the regional chamber, in which initially the censure of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, was demanded as the person with ultimate responsibility for the rail system. However, after Puente’s resignation, PP and Vox have agreed an amendment to finally direct the censure against the head of government.
In the text, the parties also call for the implementation of a system of cumulative alerts across the entire rail network, the review of investment prioritization criteria for maintenance, the carrying out of a comprehensive audit of the infrastructure, and the launch of a specific national investment plan for rail.
During the debate, Vox deputy Javier Pérez Gallardo denounced that two major rail incidents occurred while the Executive was “placing prostitutes in positions of responsibility” in the Ministry of Transport and in companies in the sector, and he attacked what he described as a “corrupt and vile” way of managing.
In his view, Pedro Sánchez cannot “continue to be president or a candidate in the next elections” after heading a government in which “incidents, breakdowns, delays and maintenance problems” have accumulated, and after also referring to the management of public contracts that “is being investigated by the courts.”
“While Spaniards trusted that their taxes would be used to guarantee the safety of our trains, judicial investigators begin to examine awards and public contracts under suspicion,” he said, stressing that the most serious thing is the hundred dead in the rail accidents in Adamuz and Urda.
For the PP, deputy Ignacio Catalá has accused the left of being “so corroded by their ideology that they lack morality and responsibilities” in the face of what is happening in Spanish rail, a situation that he has described as “shameful.”
"I think they make a serious mistake when they do not assume responsibility and do not apologize to those who have been the recipients of their bad technical and criminal decisions in this accident," he said, holding a "continuing negligence" and specific political decisions responsible for what happened.
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On behalf of Más Madrid, María Acín has focused on the need to rebuild citizens’ trust in the rail system and on the agreement that the bipartisanship sealed to "make Spain the second country in the world with the most high-speed kilometers behind China".
For this reason, she has harshly criticized the PP and Vox, considering that their fiscal and economic proposals lead to the "ruin" of Spain and that the lack of resources resulting from those policies would impact the rail network directly. As an alternative, she has defended measures such as the integration of Renfe and Adif to form a "major public operator" and has contrasted the investment by progressive governments in the rail system between 2019 and 2025, of "almost 1,200 million," with the "149 million from 2012 to 2017."
Acín has rejected the PNL promoted by the right, has reminded that Puente submitted his resignation, and has reproached the PP for treating victims differently depending on who holds power. In this regard, she has mentioned the Yak-42 case, the Angrois accident or the Valencia dana, as well as the situation of the former President of Valencia Carlos Mazón, who continues as a deputy in the Comunitat Valenciana.