The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has ruled out that the camping at Puerta del Sol "is the same" as what is happening in France and Italy, although he has admitted that "there have indeed been episodes of violence," among them "the stabbing of a woman" last Thursday.
"Knives can be used to spread hummus or to stab a woman," he pointed out during the opening of the II Meeting of Ibero-American Cities, organized by the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI).
In his speech, he emphasized that "the seriousness of what we are seeing in France and Italy means that we should not compare it with what is happening at Puerta del Sol." Still, he insisted that, "for me, what is happening at Puerta del Sol is unacceptable, there have been episodes of violence and no one can deny that the other day a woman was stabbed, but I believe that we also need to have the proper comparison."
After condemning the riots in France and Italy, Almeida acknowledged that it makes him particularly sad "to see a City Hall like that of the city of Limoges, which has been set on fire by violent mobs."
He stressed that "but anyone who expects me to say that France and Italy are the same as Puerta del Sol... This does not mean that Puerta del Sol should remain in the same situation because we all have to respect the legal order. The regulatory framework is there, Puerta del Sol is being occupied illegally, it is not being done under the protection of the right to assemble, and there have also been episodes of violence."
At this point, he criticized those who minimized the presence of knives in the area. "All those who laughed at the knives in Puerta del Sol already know that knives can be used to spread hummus or to stab a woman as happened the other day. It can serve for one thing and for another, as some of us said at the time, to the amusement of some, who I suppose now with that stabbing of that woman may not be laughing so much about knives at the Sol camp," he stated.
"PEDRO SÁNCHEZ WANTS TO SET THE STREETS ON FIRE"
In the political sphere, Almeida has assured that the camp remains "because Pedro Sánchez has given the order for them to continue there. This does not continue because of the will of the campers to continue. In the end, the campers are what they are, they are not much more than a few cats, but what there is obviously is an intention from Pedro Sánchez to continue there."
According to the mayor, the camp persists because the central Executive "does not have the courage to lift them, lest they stir up ahead of the elections and because it is part of that strategy to set the streets of Madrid on fire until the elections take place."
"I insist, the left and Pedro Sánchez want to set the streets of Madrid on fire. They want to do it through strikes and we already see the general strike. And they want to do it through the camp at Sol," he declared, thus linking the protests and the situation at Puerta del Sol with a pre-electoral tension strategy.