More than 80,000 hectares. This is the territory burned by the serious fires declared and still active in the regions of Madrid, Ávila, and Castellón. More than 80,000 hectares is the equivalent of ten natural parks of Collserola, it is more square kilometers than those on the island of Menorca or represents eight times the city of Barcelona. After another intense day, the forecasts are not entirely bad, but the arrival of the fourth heatwave threatens to complicate containment efforts and places the danger of fires at "very high or extreme," according to Aemet. Emergency services cannot lower their guard, with a dozen worrying fires across the country.

After a weekend of immense efforts to extinguish them, the flames continue to ravage various parts of the State affected by the fires. The forest fire that originated on Wednesday in Burgohondo (Ávila) has burned 50,000 hectares and covers a perimeter of about 280 kilometers. According to the third vice-president of the Spanish government, Sara Aagesen, it has become the largest in recent history in the State. This Sunday afternoon, the wind still gave it more strength, and since Friday it has become complicated due to the simultaneity with the Madrid fire, which has affected more than 25,000 hectares. Added to the 2,000 that have also been scorched in Toledo, this front – which ishas been jointly fighting as a single fire since Saturday– has burned 77,000 hectares in total. In addition, it has affected 90,000 people: 60,000 evacuated and 30,000 confined.

The fires in Madrid and Ávila continue without control. Mid-morning, seeing the evolution of the fires, the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) decided to create a “unified emergency command” to work with a single sector: “It is the best way to manage and save time”, justified Francisco Javier Marcos, head of the UME, from the advanced command post in Cenicientos. “Treating this catastrophe and this fire as one [...] will contribute to the efficiency, coordination, and agility of all the decisions we make”, he stressed. But the presence of the authorities in this municipality eighty kilometers from the capital was numbered. In the evening, the territory under joint operational direction was also extended to the province of Toledo.

Today we have published an article that begins by saying “Brussels reminds…”.Specifically, “Brussels reminds Spanish courts that they must apply the CJEU ruling on the amnesty”. The news could continue by saying “Brussels reminds and Madrid disobeys”, or “Brussels reminds and Madrid doesn't remember”, because the disregard shown by the Court of Auditors, the National Court, or the Supreme Court towards the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the full conformity with European law of the amnesty law is nothing but disobedience. The meaning of it all is clear: President Puigdemont's return to Catalonia is an humiliation for the entire political, media, police, and judicial state apparatus, especially the judicial one, which turned the prosecution of hundreds of Catalans into a reason to live with the rojigualda flag hanging on the balcony, and a merit for advancement. And, therefore, they will prolong the punishment as much as they can, because exiles and disqualifications prevent a strategic reorganization of the independence movement, which, however much it is here and no longer leaves, has not only failed to find new forms of widely accepted expression or new leaderships, but has also revealed the worst face of disorientation and division.The Spanish obstructionist impulse, which refers, therefore, to its essences, also has a tactical component which is the countdown waiting for the fall (and who knows if prosecution) of Pedro Sánchez, which would place the mechanisms of the executive and part of the legislative in the same hands as the judicial.

In Junts, the polls have not been good for some time in general. It is not only the latest CEO barometer, but since Salvador Illa's investiture as president, everything has been going downhill. This situation was discussed at the summit last Monday, reported by ARA, in which the secretary general, Jordi Turull, convened about twenty leaders, including mayors and heads of lists from regional capitals. "The party is doing well in Madrid, but not in Catalonia," was one of the most repeated phrases at the summit, according to various sources consulted. And it is not new: a large part of the party considers that Junts is functioning correctly in Congress, but not in Parliament. What is the criticism?

The invitation from the French embassy to the national celebration of July 14 in Madrid already included watching the World Cup semi-final in the program. What they didn't know a month ago when they sent it was that the match would be between France and Spain. And even less so that it would be the same week that a former Spanish government president – Mariano Rajoy i Brey – would make a racist comment about the French players. This has undoubtedly been one of the most discussed topics this Tuesday at the small palace on Calle Serrano 124 in Madrid, where the ambassador, Kareen Rispal, resides, and where the commemoration of the storming of the Bastille has been celebrated with hundreds of guests in the Spanish capital.

New revelations complicate the situation of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's partner. A report from the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) indicates that a company owned by Alberto González Amador did not have "the necessary means for the provision of consulting services" that it billed to Quirón Prevención, as it was a company for aesthetic and beauty treatments.

Traveling from Barcelona to Madrid by high-speed train now costs 44% less than five years ago, when the sector's liberalization began. Although prices have rebounded this year by 9% compared to 2025, the ticket price is now clearly lower than in 2019, according to data from Trainline, the train and bus ticket sales platform.

Thirty-four years later, Barcelona is once again dazzling the world while Madrid sees that three decades of turbo-capitalism and concentration of resources and power have not served it to shorten distances with the Catalan capital when it comes to achieving a global impact like that of 1992. Thirty-four years later, Madrid has not only not had the Olympic Games, but has had to see how the blessing ceremony of the tower of Jesus of the Sagrada Família by Leo XIV has taken all the praise and headlines in the world press and left the visit of the Pope himself to the Spanish capital a few days earlier in an absolute second place. And this without going into comparing the quality of what has been seen in Catalonia in recent days (cathedral, Lluís Companys stadium, Brians, Montserrat and Sant Agustí) with the events in Madrid, particularly the performances with an evangelistic air at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Pope Leo XIV will be in Barcelona on Tuesday and Wednesday, but there are Catalans who did not want to miss this weekend's massive vigil and mass in Madrid. This is the case of a dozen people who have moved heaven and earth to be there and do a double. "We have come to enjoy," they assure ARA.

In addition to praying, one must work. In a subtle way and in front of a massive participation of half a million young people at the vigil – according to the Spanish government delegation – Pope Leo XIV addressed this message to the gathered boys and girls in Madrid this Saturday.

The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) calculates that more than 509,000 travelers have given up using high-speed trains between Madrid and Barcelona compared to the times when they made the journey in "historical best times".

Madrid is, increasingly, a continuous and terrible spectacle, starring a wide collection of actors from all imaginable professions who always move around a single concept: power. In its full dimension and with all the elements that have characterized the work for centuries: ambition, corruption, exploitation, manipulation... institutional violence if necessary. Pasqual Maragall already anticipated it in detail in articles in El País 25 years ago ("Madrid se va") and 23 years ago ("Madrid se ha ido"). Today we note that these are not only very relevant reflections, but that it is possible and necessary to update them.

The 2025-26 season will be remembered for many years by blaugrana fans. For the second year in a row, Barça has won all the titles it has competed for – Champions League, League, Copa de la Reina, and Spanish Super Cup. A historic quadruple that has served for Pere Romeu's team to reassert themselves after a season marked by doubts and criticism, especially due to the short squad that was assembled in the summer and that has forced academy players like Clara Serrajordi and Aïcha Camara to step up.

Of the 179 municipalities in the Community of Madrid, 114, almost 64% of the total, are governed by the PP. The percentage increases if we focus on the 37 with the largest populations. 70% of the municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants are tinged blue. The Isabel Díaz Ayuso effect caused the left to even lose some of its strongholds in southern Madrid, traditionally called the red belt, in the last local elections of 2023, as is the case with Móstoles and Leganés –second and fourth most populated cities–. The popular party also snatched Alcalá de Henares and Alcobendas from the PSOE –third and tenth, located to the east and north, respectively.

The geographer Oriol Nel·lo (Barcelona, 1957) has just made, along with the Madrid architect Agustín Hernández and with essential infographics by fellow geographer Joan López, one of the most relevant contributions in recent years to the eternal debate between Madrid and Barcelona. The book Barcelona/Madrid, per un diàleg crític –which for now can only be found in Italian, but which will soon be published in Catalan by the publisher Tirant lo Blanch– was presented a few days ago at a conference of the Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMB) and is a commission from the Federico II University of Naples.

Practically, ten years after the Brexit referendumGibraltar returns to the single market, the fence is definitively taken down, and while it remains under British sovereignty, the Rock cedes border control of ports and airports to the Spanish police. The future of Gibraltar now has a defined legal roadmap according to the full text of the agreement between Brussels, London, and Madrid, which the Spanish and British foreign ministries made public this Thursday morning. The legal formulation –a text of more than 1,000 pages– puts it in black and white the political agreement to which the three capitals involved In the negotiations, in addition to Gibraltar itself, they reached an agreement in June of last year.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso dismissed her Education Minister, Emilio Viciana, on Monday, and the decision has had repercussions within the Madrid PP. On Wednesday, Antonio Castillo Algarra, one of the directors of the Spanish Ballet of the Community of Madrid and a close associate of the dismissed minister, resigned, as did the members of parliament who resigned on Tuesday, the so-called the popcornsIn fact, they were part of a theater group directed by Castillo Algarra himself, who is also an advisor to Ayuso. The decision came from "political consistency," for reasons unrelated to the Ballet, and according to Europa Press, further resignations are not ruled out. Furthermore, the Madrid government has also dismissed two directors general from the Ministry of Education: the Director General of Universities, Nicolás Javier Casas, and the Director General of Secondary Education, Vocational Training, and Special Education, María Luz Rodríguez de Llera Tejeda. The three Popular Party members of parliament who have resigned from the Madrid Assembly are: Pablo Posse, Mónica Lavín, and Carlota Pasarón. Posse was the first to announce his resignation, doing so during the Education Committee meeting held this morning in the Assembly. There, according to the EFE news agency, Posse—who until now was the PP's spokesperson for Education in the Madrid Assembly—also explained that these three resignations will not be the only ones, as two directors general of the regional ministry will also step down: Nicolás Javier Casas, Director General of Universities; and María Luz Rodríguez de Llera, Director General of Secondary Education, Vocational Training, and Special Education. Sources within the Madrid government assure that no other dismissals have been approved so far. According to the Madrid PP, the resignations of Posse, Lavín—until now the PP's spokesperson for Social Policy in the Assembly—and Pasarón—spokesperson for Youth—are due to "personal reasons" of the three deputies, but the fact is that the resignations came the very next morning. The first change in Ayuso's government apparently did not please the three PP deputies who left the Assembly. The now former Minister of Education confirmed on Tuesday that his resignation was "at his own request" and thanked the Madrid president in a message to X for the opportunity to have served in the position over the past few years. Mercedes Zarzalejo will replace Viciana. In fact, according to Europa Press, the new minister will also form her own team, and therefore some officials will not resign voluntarily. Posse indicated that two directors general would like to resign.

The clash of models between the Spanish government and the Community of Madrid shows no signs of slowing, and this Tuesday it was healthcare that took center stage. Pedro Sánchez's administration took a first step to safeguard public healthcare and, as it had been warning, laid out in writing the path it intends to follow. The Council of Ministers approved in its first reading a draft bill on healthcare services that aims to "slam the door," in the words of Health Minister Mónica García, on the publicly funded and privatized model promoted by the People's Party (PP) during José María Aznar's term. The Catalan healthcare system's employers' associations have already announced that they will demand the protection of the "unique" nature of Catalonia's publicly funded model. The bill, therefore, represents a direct attack on the healthcare system championed by Isabel Díaz Ayuso in the Community of Madrid. In fact, the president of the Madrid region was quick to react, accusing the government of "wanting to destroy healthcare" in Madrid and leading it into a "revolution" so that "nothing works."

While Gabriel Rufián embarks on a nearly solitary journey. To forge alliances with left-wing forces throughout the state, Sumar has taken a right-wing approach, anticipating the move of the Republican spokesperson, and has announced a new coalition with Comunes, Más Madrid, and Izquierda Unida for the upcoming general elections. The presentation of the new "common alliance" will take place on Saturday, February 21st, at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. "A solid and trustworthy space over time that allows the transformative and plurinational left-wing movements of the State to come together," the four parties assert. In fact, the new agreement will be a kind of revalidation after the three years of experience of Sumar, the platform that Yolanda Díaz was solemnized in April 2023 and who ran in the June 23rd elections. Meanwhile, Rufián is sticking to his roadmap. The ERC spokesperson in Congress admits that, despite having "0% political support," he has a "much higher percentage of popular support" and defends his commitment to going beyond Catalonia's borders: "Representing someone from Algeciras doesn't make me any less Catalan or less pro-independence."