More than a thousand people demonstrated this Sunday in Montecarmelo against the cleaning canton that will be located in the neighborhood, denouncing that this "is not a garbage dump" and asking for the relocation of both it and the base of the Urgent Cleaning Service (SELUR). ) "far from educational centers and homes."
This canton was initially going to be built near the Infanta Leonor school, but the rejection of the residents of this area north of Madrid coincided with the eve of the 28-M elections. Neighborhood pressure during the campaign caused the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, to paralyze the works to study an alternative location.
With whistles and shouting 'No to the canton', more than a thousand residents, as police sources have informed Europa Press, have gathered in the streets of this Madrid neighborhood, carrying banners with messages such as 'Montecarmelo will not forget this gift in the upcoming elections' and many others addressed both to the mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez Almeida, and to the delegate of Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility, Borja Carabante, in whose plans it is urgent to neutralize the protests.
Around 11:30 a.m. the protest began, called by the Montecarmelo Neighborhood Association and the Platform No to the Canton of Montecarmelo and attended by the Vox spokesperson at City Hall, Ortega Smith; the general secretary of the PSOE-M, Juan Lobato; the spokesperson of this party in the City Council, Reyes Maroto; and the deputy spokesperson for Más Madrid in the City Council, Eduardo Fernández Rubiño.
The spokesperson for the No to Canton Platform, Paco Arranz, recalled that this Sunday's is the third demonstration on this matter. And he denounces that the "macro facility of 10,000 square meters for garbage management" is going to be located "between two schools and a daycare center, in the heart of a neighborhood, to serve the entire northwest area of Madrid."
"This is not the ideal place for coexistence, for children... We are going to protest to stop this. We are open to negotiations but Carabante also has to have the political will to do so," he stressed.
David, a resident of the area, has attended the demonstration to "fight" for his neighborhood. In statements to Europa Press he has denounced that this type of installation will affect everyone. "Trucks at five in the morning, polluting elements, odors... The cleaning cantons do not correspond here, but in industrial areas, where they do not bother the neighbors," he argued.
Like him, Manuel goes to the protest as an individual. The new block will be located about 300 meters from his house, where he has lived since 2009. "This is a residential neighborhood, on the outskirts, adjacent to industrial areas, and they have decided to put the block next to my house," he protested.
"It cannot be that the neighbors are treated with contempt and arrogance. This was an electoral promise," the Vox spokesperson reproached the City Council. Their group does not put "any type of obstacles" to the cleaning of Madrid and municipal services of this type but they consider that "there are locations, plots, where this agile and effective cleaning service can be maintained, close to the neighborhoods without harming to neighbors, schools and green areas".
For his part, Reyes Maroto (PSOE) has stressed that "the license must be authorized so that the General Directorate of Historical Memory can carry out archaeological tastings in accordance with the new investigations that the Association of Friends of Brigade Members has transferred to the Ministry as well as the Madrid City Council", referring to the possible mass grave of 451 brigade members of the civil war existing in the place, behind the Fuencarral cemetery.
"Alternatives have been given to this canton, which will transform the life of this neighborhood, which will cause all kinds of inconveniences, which will affect a protected environment, disturb schools... The City Council must stop acting with its back to the people ", stated Eduardo Rubiño (Más Madrid) in this sense.
In this regard, this Friday the Councilor for Urban Planning, Borja Carabante (PP), stated that he "respects" the neighbors' protest and understands "their concern" although he explained that the cantons are "essential" and "do not cause inconvenience or harm to residents." neighbors".
As he stressed, the canton of Montecarmelo "must be carried out because it is necessary to provide service to the neighborhood as a result of the increase in material and human resources" in terms of cleaning.
In addition, the delegate reported that they are aware of the permission that an association has requested to carry out an archaeological study in the area, which he assured that this administrative procedure has been requested. "Since they have approved a Democratic Memory Law, what they have to do is comply with their own law," he stressed, in relation to the request for this study by the State Secretariat for Democratic Memory.
