Pedro Sánchez's visit to the Yebes Observatory (Guadalajara) to witness the total solar eclipse this Wednesday will not take place. The President of the Government was scheduled to travel to this municipality to follow from the center of the National Geographic Institute (IGN) an astronomical phenomenon that has required the deployment of a wide institutional and security device, but his presence has disappeared from the official agenda.
Sánchez's absence comes after it was taken for granted in recent days that he would travel to Yebes. The very announcement of his visit had leaked at the end of July and was subsequently reported by various media.
Now, however - explains Crónica de Guadalajara -, Moncloa confirms that the president will not attend. The official agenda for this Wednesday does not include any activity of Sánchez in Yebes and the institutional follow-up of the eclipse is left in the hands of several members of the Government. Sources familiar with the organization have also confirmed his absence.
Four ministers at the Observatory
The institutional event is not canceled. The Government maintains Yebes as the official venue for the follow-up of the eclipse and has planned the presence of several ministers. According to information provided by the Government Subdelegation in Guadalajara to El Decano de Guadalajara, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant; the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López; the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, will be at the Observatory. It is not ruled out that Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska may attend the Observatory located in Castilla-La Mancha at the last minute.
According to El Decano de Guadalajara, the presence of the Government delegate in Castilla-La Mancha, José Pablo Sabrido, is also expected.
Morant will be the highest authority of the Government at the event and the person responsible for the department that has coordinated a good part of the scientific programming linked to the eclipse. The Executive chose in May the Yebes Observatory as the official venue for the institutional monitoring of the phenomenon, with broadcasts and participation from scientists and organizations such as the IGN, the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, the Center for Astrobiology, the Spanish Space Agency, and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology. Spanish astronauts from the European Space Agency Pablo Álvarez and Sara García will also participate.
A town secured since early afternoon
The arrival of the authorities has forced the establishment of an extraordinary device in Yebes. The City Council has planned access controls to the urban area and restrictions to prevent the town from being overwhelmed by the arrival of visitors.
According to the information provided by the municipal device itself, residents will be able to access the municipality, but they must identify themselves at the control points. Access to the Observatory will be even more restricted and reserved for authorized persons and vehicles.
The municipality plans to close access starting at 1:30 PM. From that moment on, the entry of new visitors to the urban area will not be allowed. The measure aims to prevent the massive arrival of vehicles from coinciding with the movements linked to the institutional event and with the security operation deployed for the eclipse.
For those authorized to attend the Observatory, shuttles have been planned, so that access is not made freely in private vehicles. The organization thus maintains a controlled transport system to the facilities of the IGN.
The device is particularly relevant because Yebes is within the totality zone and has become one of the central points of the institutional organization of the eclipse. The Observatory itself had already warned in its planning of the need to control access in anticipation of attendance by scientific personnel, family members, guests, and authorities. (ICTS Yebes)
Around 150 invited authorities
Around the institutional event, a figure of approximately 150 authorities and guests has been handled. The presence of institutional representatives explains part of the security deployment and the access restrictions that will affect the locality during the day.
The question that has not yet been detailed is how exactly the arrival of all of them at the Observatory will be organized and what part of the transport device will be used for the authorities. Ordinary access by private vehicle will be restricted and the municipality will remain subject to controls during the hours leading up to the eclipse.
The device adds to the general operation deployed due to a phenomenon that has caused extraordinary mobility forecasts in much of Spain. The total eclipse will be visible from different points of the Peninsula and has led administrations to reinforce emergency, transport, and security services in anticipation of the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people. (El País)
The mystery of Sánchez's absence
The main political novelty of the day is, however, the absence of Pedro Sánchez.
According to various reports, the president had initially planned to interrupt his vacation in La Mareta, in Lanzarote, to travel to Guadalajara and view the eclipse from Yebes. This forecast had been published at the end of July and had been maintained in the following days.
Now the trip has been ruled out. There is, at the moment, no official explanation that expressly links the change of agenda with the migration crisis in Ceuta or with any other specific issue. Therefore, it cannot be confirmed that the situation in the autonomous city is the reason for the absence.
It is known that Sánchez held a videoconference on August 7 related to the situation in Ceuta and that since then his public activity has been conditioned by the evolution of the crisis. The presidential agenda for this Wednesday, however, appears without public activity in Yebes.
The result is that the initially planned scenario has changed: the president will not be at the Observatory, but the Government maintains a high-level representation there, with several ministers, while Yebes remains practically sealed off for much of the afternoon.
The eclipse will begin at the Yebes Observatory at 19:36 hours. Totality will arrive at 20:31 hours and will last approximately one minute. The Sun will then be very low on the western horizon, one of the particularities that condition the observation from this site.
Thus, while the sky concentrates the attention of scientists, authorities, and media, Yebes will experience an exceptional day from the early afternoon: closed access, controls, transportation by shuttles, and an institutional device prepared to receive dozens of authorities. The big difference from the plan announced just a few days ago is that, finally, Pedro Sánchez will not be among them.