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For about two months, Spain has experienced an almost constant increase in new cases of coronavirus and, more recently, a worrying increase in new hospitalizations, including in intensive care units.
The Spanish region most affected at present is the Community of Madrid, which registered more than a thousand new cases between Wednesday and Thursday and is considering the introduction of new restrictive measures, including important restrictions on travel. The situation for the local government, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, of the Popular Party (PP, the main Spanish right-wing party), is very critical: after demanding greater autonomy from the central government, Ayuso has now asked the president of the Spanish government Pedro Sánchez, from the PSOE, the main center-left party in the country, recognizes that it cannot manage the crisis only at the local level.
In Spain, disputes and tensions between the central and regional governments had already been the focus of great discussions and had led the government led by Sánchez to entrust a large part of the management of the epidemic to the regions. In late August, Sánchez – who at the peak of the epidemic had been the only Western European leader to lose support – said his government would no longer bother to introduce the so-called “state of alarm.” but it would make the regions do it. The “state of alarm” is a measure provided by the Constitution that allows the government to take extraordinary measures in particular emergency situations: its implementation was considered necessary at the most serious moment of the epidemic, but for the Spanish government it had come at a very cost. great politician.
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However, after Sánchez’s decision, the problems for the autonomous communities have not diminished. Until now, regional management of the epidemic has been quite complicated, especially in the most affected autonomous communities, including Madrid.
The last days in particular have been very difficult for the Ayuso City Council, which has shown great confusion about the measures to be taken. Last Wednesday Antonio Zapatero, Deputy Minister of Public Health of the Community of Madrid, had surprisingly announced the introduction of “selective isolation” measures, that is, the isolation of some of the region’s municipalities most affected by the epidemic ( especially in the south). The announcement was met with surprise and much controversy, and the regional government immediately denied it. On Thursday, however, the Minister of Health of the Community of Madrid, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, announced new measures to limit travel, without being too specific, provoking an angry reaction from several mayors of the autonomous community. No final decision has been made at this time.
The regional government’s difficulties in dealing with the epidemic have also been acknowledged by members of the same ruling coalition, including Vice President Ignacio Aguado, and by members of the medical community.
In an interview given on Thursday at countryFor example, Santiago Moreno, director of the infectious diseases service at the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid, wondered why restrictive measures were not taken in time, especially when the number of new infections began to increase alarmingly. (In the Community of Madrid, the use of the mask in public places became mandatory only at the end of July). Moreno added that other autonomous communities particularly affected by the epidemic, such as Aragon and Catalonia, have managed to improve the numbers of new infections, thanks to the implementation of decisive measures.
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The problem is that the management of the epidemic in the Community of Madrid does not only concern the Community of Madrid: it also affects the rest of Spain and in particular neighboring regions, such as Castilla-La Mancha, whose president, Emiliano García-Page , he complained a lot about Ayuso’s actions. The city of Madrid is, in fact, the center of many flows of people, who for various reasons pass through the capital. As the epidemiologist Daniel López Acuña, former director of Emergencies at the World Health Organization, also pointed out, “the excessive increase in new cases is a danger not only for the neighboring autonomous communities, but for all of Spain.”
Given the impossibility of managing the epidemic, the Community of Madrid has asked Sánchez for help, who will meet with Ayuso on Monday of next week. It is not yet known if new restrictive measures will be adopted in the meantime, but the regional government could announce something in the next few hours.
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