The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has accused certain unions of using mobilizations in public education in Madrid for political purposes and of harming students and teachers. «I feel that they have kidnapped the students, the immense majority of the teachers, and the management teams,» she said in an interview granted to EL ESPAÑOL and published this Sunday.
Ayuso directed her criticism at trade union organizations which, according to her interpretation, maintain ties with political parties and would be using protests to favor the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in the context of the the elections on next 29 November. The Madrid leader has come to refer to them as «union mafia», although she clarified that it does not include all unions in her accusations, nor all union representatives.
The regional president has linked the mobilizations to the call for union elections in the Public Education sector, scheduled for 3 December. In her view, the protests also respond to a party strategy and not exclusively to labor or educational demands.
During the interview, Ayuso rejected taking responsibility for the situation in educational centers and defended that students and teaching teams are the main ones harmed by the mobilizations. She also criticized traffic cuts and protest actions which, as she has related, have affected workers’ mobility and educational activity.
Criticism extends to healthcare
Ayuso’s statements also addressed mobilizations in the healthcare sphere. Asked about the situation of emergencies and waiting lists in Madrid hospitals, the president rejected considering herself to be to blame for care problems and linked them to the medical strike and the conflict between professionals and the Ministry of Health.
In this regard, she defended that part of the difficulties of the healthcare system respond to decisions that, as she pointed out, correspond to the central Government and not to the autonomous communities.
Ayuso puts 29-N in national terms
The interview has also been marked by the electoral context. Ayuso has presented the elections of November 29 as an opportunity to open a new political stage in Spain and has expressed her support for the leader of the Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
The president of Madrid has contrasted the possibility of a change of government with what she considers a stage of «state corruption» under the Executive of Pedro Sánchez. Likewise, she has defended that Feijóo has the experience from his management in Galicia and has asserted his ability to build political teams.
In her remarks, Ayuso has also addressed issues such as housing, immigration, voting by mail, and the situation in Ceuta, with criticism aimed at the central Government.
The statements come during the midst of the electoral pre-campaign and in a scenario of political confrontation between the Madrid regional Executive and the Government of Spain.