The same Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP) who on February 10, 2022 failed Rocío Monasterio (Vox) defending that “crime is not related to the origin of people”, this past Wednesday linked the “fights” and “brawls” registered in Alcalá de Henares with the presence of 1,260 irregular immigrants transferred from the Canary Islands to the reception center set up by the Government in the Madrid city.
That after her first statement it was applauded by Más Madrid and PSOE and that after the second it was cheered by the ultranationalist party shows the radical 180 degree turn undertaken by the president of the Community of Madrid.
It is not Ayuso's first turn to starboard. Since the incontestable absolute majority obtained last May, the Madrid leader has started battles that, while her parliamentary majority depended on external support, she did not dare to fight. In some cases due to fear of losing the vote and, in others, due to reluctance to give wings to a coalition partner, Vox, which in the quarterly polls was beginning to show signs of wear and tear as would later be confirmed by the polls.
First was the reform of the trans and LGTBI laws approved urgently so that the reduction of rights of the aforementioned groups coincided with the Christmas Lottery draw so that the controversy was buried by the hustle and bustle of the beginning of the holidays. Christmas
And now it is the turn of immigration. Matter about which Ayuso initially cried out – criticizing the announced transfer of immigration powers to the Generalitat under an agreement between PSOE and Junts, considering that it implied “giving foreign status to those who practice racism with citizens” –, for end up coveting these skills. A twist in the script that did not go unnoticed by Rocío Monasterio, who even ironically welcomed him for approaching her “thesis.”
The extreme right was eager to win a medal after being obscured in the regional Assembly due to its decline in votes and seats. And that is why the paternity of the PP's approaches has been claimed. “This has been Vox's speech for years, it seems that now we are right because Mrs. Ayuso has been in Alcalá de Henares. Well, of course we are right,” said Monasterio.
The joy of those from Santiago Abascal, who denounce the “growing insecurity” in the streets of Madrid, was total when, after hearing the popular ones denounce an alleged unequal distribution of immigrants between communities under the slogan “they are going to be sent to Madrid to illegal immigrants that Catalonia does not want”, Ayuso included in the equation two alleged “investigations for sexual assaults” reported by two women from Alcalá de Henares. One of them, part of which the regional government distributed to the press, was at the hands of “a young black man dressed in black.”
The Headquarters of the National Police of Madrid has confirmed that the complaints exist. But since "there is no known author, we cannot link him to the migrants at the center," they added after five weeks of investigation and identification lineups.
Given the evidence, or rather the lack of it, the PSOE and the central government have taken turns attacking “Ayuso's lies.” This is what the socialist leader in Madrid, Juan Lobato, has done, calling the use of the migratory phenomenon to “create demagogy” “absolute nonsense and barbarity.” And the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, calling the words of the president of the Community "xenophobic and irresponsible" to state that "speeches like this clearly hinder the peaceful coexistence necessary in a democratic society." They haven't been the only ones. The parliamentary spokesperson, Patxi López, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, have also expressed themselves in identical terms.
Faced with such a display, Ayuso qualified his words on Thursday by ensuring that “the only thing he did” was describe the situation that the mayor of Alcalá, Judith Piquet, had “reported to him with great concern.” And he added that if he has been characterized by something, it is by “repeating integration, miscegenation, openness and contrasts in his speeches.”
The national PP came to his rescue. His spokesperson, Borja Sémper, and her general secretary, Cuca Gamarra, defended the Madrid leader in the management of the migration crisis suffered by the Canary Islands and for which they accused the Government of “lack of responsibility.”
On the other hand, there have been no mentions of Junts in recent hours. Ayuso's excess of impetus has invalidated, at least for a few days, the possibility of continuing to attack the alleged "xenophobia" of Carles Puigdemont's people after the pact for the transfer of immigration powers to the Generalitat. For this reason, the amnesty is once again the PP's main means of attack at this beginning of the legislature.
