The tensions that shake Ayuso's model in Madrid

Madrid"The image of the Community of Madrid government is Formula 1 this past weekend." With these words, Isabel Díaz Ayuso made clear how important the Grand Prix of motoring, dubbed Madring, is for her political project. The Madrid president has fully committed to the event and has turned it into a showcase for her management model, ignoring the criticisms it has generated among residents, the opposition, and even pilots who participated in the urban circuit. The leader of the Madrid PP has defended it by contrasting a supposed defeatism of the left, which would want a diminished capital, with the spectacular nature and "resounding success" of Madrid, which hosts major events and demonstrates to the world an "extraordinary organizational capacity." The F1 arrives at a delicate moment for Ayuso: the luxury penthouse scandal is not fading, and this very Friday she admitted that she went to see the property without the intention of living in it, and the judge has already taken a step to investigate the matter.

Thus, with the F1 as a backdrop and a few months before the regional elections of May 2027, Ayuso has claimed that the region "is living its best moment" thanks to her management model built from "joy," "freedom," and "ambition." However, what for the Madrid president is a cause for pride and a sign of "prosperity," for other sectors of the Madrid population is an ordeal and a target to defeat. This is the case of the residents affected by the Grand Prix, who have grouped together in the Stop Formula 1 Madrid platform. Its spokesperson, Constantino Blanco, explains in a conversation with ARA that they intend to "sink it" and paralyze next year's edition, for which the organization has already set a date – from September 10 to 12, 2027 –. But Blanco goes further and intends for "closing this door" to be "the first domino piece" to dismantle a model based on major events.

The platform denounces that the Madrid administration treats the residents as if they were a "nuisance" and calls for "expelling developers from cities" to "reclaim the neighborhoods." For now, their roadmap consists of following the steps of another neighborhood platform, the one around the Bernabéu, which managed to legally paralyze the concerts at the Real Madrid stadium because they exceeded the permitted noise levels. Stop Formula 1 commissioned a sound measurement company to measure the decibels during the competition and, once they have the results in hand, which they already predict will be excessive, they intend to take the battle to the courts. "The key here will be judicial," predicts Blanco. A setback from the justice system in Madrid could cast doubt on the narrative of Ayuso and the Madrid PP, which even uses an image of an F1 car to predict its electoral victory.

Public services

In the demonstrations by those affected by Formula 1, there hovered a complaint that went beyond the immediate consequences of the Grand Prix, such as the noise, mobility restrictions, and the destruction of the neighborhoods' green areas. The priorities of the administration governed by the PP were criticized. The situation is exemplified by the Valdebebas neighborhood, an urban development project that began to be planned in the early 2000s, to which Formula 1 has arrived before a public health center. It is not the only recent example of complaints about the abandonment of public services. The state of the region debate held last week at the Madrid Assembly was tinged with the yellow of the t-shirts worn by childcare workers from community centers, who have been on indefinite strike for months. This summer it was the forest firefighters who made their labor demands heard, and this week an investigation by El País has denounced the manipulation of waiting lists at a public hospital in Madrid.

The ghost in the attic

The explanations given by the Madrid Minister of the Presidency, Miguel Ángel García Martín, to the Madrid Assembly this Thursday have not served to dispel doubts about the purchase of the luxury penthouse. The key question of who ordered the acquisition and for what purpose has not been answered by the documentation provided by the Community of Madrid. The Madrid left will continue to press the issue with an episode that Ayuso has tried to downplay this Friday with her particular style. "What makes me happy is having neighbors," she said to reaffirm that she would not want an official residence. However, she did admit that she went to visit the property, now for sale, "to see it." Nevertheless, the Madrid president has denied having anything to do with this file, which the opposition is still demanding to see, while the judge who received the complaint about this matter has taken a first step to investigate it by asking the Prosecutor's Office if it is competent to do so.