Madrid, the city that dreamed of Eurovegas and the Olympic Games, already has its Formula 1 grand prix (although in 2026, until then at least Montmeló will continue to organize the Spanish Grand Prix). Good news if you take into account the promotion that the city will receive internationally, there is no doubt about that. Carlos Sainz senior yesterday felt “very proud,” he said, “as a Madrid native and as a Spaniard.” The problem is that recent experiences like that of Valencia do not invite us to be optimistic. The question circulating on social networks is: is this, really, a priority for the city?
Part by part. Francisco Camps was the main promoter of the grand prix of the city of Turia. He promised that the event would have zero cost for Valencians. But something went wrong. The five races that took place around the port “ended up costing more than 230 million; The last bills have been paid in 2023, more than a decade after the last grand prix was held,” recalled @nenedenarie. Fifteen years after Camps' promise, Ayuso has repeated the “not one euro” cost for the people of Madrid. Time will tell if history repeats itself.
But what was most annoying yesterday in the traditional digital courtyard was, without a doubt, that Madrid is becoming a city with more contrasts and inequalities every day. One of the main challenges facing the capital, and which is not foreign to other Spanish cities, is something that has already happened in large cities such as Paris, London and New York: the housing shortage is driving out middle-income earners. and low, who cannot compete in property auctions.
In Madrid there are bleeding cases like the one that @belenremacha reported a few days ago: “We went to see a flat, the price per square meter was good. The same afternoon it appeared on [a well-known real estate portal], an “investor” had already called the owner offering him 20% immediately, without seeing him, and raising the starting price by 50,000 euros. 'Understand me, what would you do in my place,' was the seller's comment."
The problem with turning Madrid into a kind of theme park is that it causes a diaspora of the most modest families, who cannot choose, unless they inherit, to continue residing in a city that has always been welcoming. There are more and more citizens who want to continue living “Madrid style”, but have to settle for living “Toledana style” or “Alcarreña style” because they have no other option.
