The Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, has sent a letter to the City Council of the capital requesting detailed information about the fire stations located at Puerta del Sol "given the difficulty of visual verification."
In the document, which Europa Press has accessed, it is explained that, "considering the exceptional circumstances existing in the environment of Plaza de la Puerta del Sol and in order to implement the necessary measures to guarantee access and operation of the 'dry columns' (used by firefighters) in case of eventual emergency situations," the Government Delegation asks the Madrid City Council for the list with the number of "dry columns" and their exact location in Sol.
"Given the difficulty of visual verification taking into account the circumstances mentioned above, it is requested that, as far as possible, this information be provided through plans or any other format that allows for its location," states the letter signed by the delegate.
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has interpreted this request as an admission of evacuation problems at Puerta del Sol by the representative of the central Government, having to request this data from the City Council.
The mayor has assured that he is "very surprised" by the receipt of Martín's letter at the City Council. In his opinion, "there is an explicit acknowledgment by the Government delegate of his inability to guarantee safety in case of disaster as a consequence of the massive situation of tents in Sol," he emphasized.
After a meeting with the Executive Committee of the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI), Almeida has stressed that "the most surprising thing is that the delegate says that due to the exceptional situation being experienced, a visual check cannot be made, that the plans should be sent," a request to which the City Council will respond "as soon as possible."
The mayor has asked, "Is it really reasonable that this is the situation in which Puerta del Sol finds itself? Does the Government delegate really not acknowledge that it is a situation that cannot be sustained over time, when he himself in a letter acknowledges that visually it cannot be determined the state where the dry columns are located?"
Martínez-Almeida has emphasized that "what there is no discussion about is that there are evacuation problems at Puerta del Sol," a risk he considers especially serious in the event of a possible stampede, and he has also recalled the "violent assaults like those that have occurred, with images of a guillotine for the president of the Community of Madrid," as well as that "institutional activity cannot be carried out normally at the headquarters of the Government of the Community of Madrid."
Almeida warns about responsibility in case of incidents
"HE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY SITUATION"
The mayor has reiterated that the camping "must end immediately because when the Government delegate himself addresses the City Council of Madrid to provide him with information given that 'visually it cannot be verified due to the situation of the tents' it seems that there is a more serious problem than the Government is willing to admit."
In this sense, he has warned Francisco Martín that "and he should keep in mind that he will be responsible for any situation that may arise at Puerta del Sol." Likewise, he has specified that this writing does not respond to the requests made by the City Council for the camping to be dismantled, communications "to which he does not deign to respond."
Finally, Almeida maintains that the camping will only be lifted "when it suits Pedro Sánchez" because, he has stated, everything the president of the Government does obeys "his conveniences and criteria of opportunity."