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."

The People's Party (PP) of Madrid pressured a councilwoman from the party in Móstoles not to report the town's mayor, Manuel Bautista, for sexual and workplace harassment. as published The CountryThe newspaper has obtained a copy of the complaint the woman filed with the Popular Party's national committee on rights and guarantees, in which she explains the events and details up to six attempts to seek support from her party. She says it was all in vain. The party denies having covered anything up and claims that the internal investigation it opened was closed because there was "no evidence to support the complaint." "It's a fabricated case against the PP," reacted the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, also sided with the mayor and said that the party did not consider the conduct proven, while the mayor himself defended his innocence and ruled out resigning. Feijóo, in any case, said that any woman has the right to seek justice, in statements made in Aragon and reported by Europa Press.

Problems are piling up on the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Barcelona. Adif, the infrastructure manager, which has been working for days to correct all the defects in the train network, has asked all operators serving this line to cancel the last trains of the day to allow more time for on-site work. In practical terms, this means that starting this Monday, there will be no high-speed service between Barcelona and Madrid after 8:00 p.m. This situation will only affect this corridor, and the Ministry of Transport has not yet specified how long it will last. Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo have already canceled the last trains of the day because, with all the speed limits that had been established for safetyHigh-speed train journeys are so long that the last trains of the day occupy part of the nighttime maintenance slot. While there is no commercial service, workers thoroughly inspect and repair the infrastructure, and sources at Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager) indicate that there is not enough time to carry out the "adequate" checks. Renfe, which operates the AVE high-speed train service, has explained that it is canceling the journeys that departed from Madrid (Atocha station) at 8:27 p.m. and 9:07 p.m. and arrived at Sants station at midnight. Trains departing from Barcelona (Sants) at 9:05 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. and arriving at Atocha station shortly before midnight have also been canceled. "Automatic rebookings have been made for passengers affected by these cancellations," the company explained.

"I could call Mourinho at three in the morning and he'd answer." That's what Álvaro Arbeloa said before visiting Benfica's stadium on the final matchday of the Champions League group stage. It was a crazy match that went to the home side (4-2) with a goal from goalkeeper Trubin in the 98th minute, which secured the Portuguese team's place in the round of 32 (a 3-2 victory would have eliminated them on goal difference). Real Madrid's defeat – combined with the other results of the day – also dropped them from third to ninth place and forced them to play this qualifying round to reach the round of 16. The draw has paired Arbeloa with Mourinho once again. The first leg will be on February 17th or 18th at the Estádio da Luz, while the return leg will be on February 24th or 25th at the Bernabéu.

"I'm informing you that we're stopped. We'll resume our journey shortly, but we don't know when. We're stopped due to traffic on the network and the snow. And also due to structural problems." This message, issued this afternoon by a driver of a high-speed train stopped between Barcelona and Madrid, reflects the chaos on the AVE high-speed rail lines in recent hours. This chaos adds to the disruption experienced in recent days on the Cercanías commuter rail network. Furthermore, flights departing from Madrid are also experiencing delays this Wednesday due to the snowstorm.

A Madrid court continues its investigation into the protocols in place in the Community of Madrid during the pandemic that restricted the transfer of elderly residents from care homes to hospitals, effectively denying them healthcare. Due to the coronavirus, 7,291 people died in care homes. On Monday, Carlos Mur, who is under investigation in the case and was the Director of Social and Healthcare Coordination at the time, testified and began pointing fingers at higher levels of the administration. For the private prosecution, led by the Marea de Residencias (Care Home Tide) movement, his testimony represents a significant step forward, despite revealing a strategy of evading responsibility among those involved in healthcare management. After four failed attempts to get him to testify, he finally did so via videoconference from Andorra.

It was supposed to be temporary, but it will ultimately last longer than expected. Adif has decided to maintain the temporary speed restriction on the Barcelona-Madrid high-speed rail line following a complaint from a train driver, even though early Wednesday morning it announced that service was returning to normal along almost the entire route. However, this is not the only section affected after the Adamuz accident, where the condition of the tracks is being investigated as a possible cause of the crash: sources at La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's office) have reported that speed will also be restricted on the Valencia-Madrid route due to complaints from another train driver. In the case of the section affecting Barcelona, ​​the speed will be limited to 160 kilometers per hour on a stretch between kilometer markers 100 and 178, between Madrid and Zaragoza, out of a total distance of 667 kilometers. This decision was made after a Renfe train driver "complained about the track."

"It's very strange that it happened on a straight stretch of road." This was one of the first assessments made on Sunday night by railway experts, train drivers, industry workers, and even the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente. The area where they collided Two trains in Adamuz (Cordoba), an accident that has already left at least 40 deadIt's flat terrain: a long straight stretch with the only element being a switch.