Another controversy for Ayuso: she uses Madrid's official social media to recommend a restaurant linked for years to Francoist symbolism

Isabel Díaz Ayuso has once again placed the Community of Madrid at the center of controversy after using the institutional accounts of the regional Government and her own profiles to promote El Mirador de Pelayos, a private restaurant in Pelayos de la Presa known for having displayed numerous symbols related to the Francoist dictatorship for years.

The recording was released this Tuesday and featured Rosa and Jesús, the establishment's managers. "They continue to serve rice dishes to the entire area, with the same quality as always, a little sadder and very hurt by the loss that has occurred throughout the area," Ayuso noted. The stated objective was to support businesses in the Sierra Oeste affected by the serious fires in July, although the choice of a specific establishment and the use of official profiles have fueled criticism.

A Francoist past documented by 'Telemadrid'

The restaurant's connection to this symbology is documented. in 2018, the '120 Minutos' program on 'Telemadrid' visited El Mirador de Pelayos and presented it as one of the last "temples of Francoism" in Madrid. The cameras showed up to seven images of Francisco Franco, several busts of the dictator, pre-constitutional flags, and religious symbols. The owner then spoke of a "small tribute" and assured that she would remove them if the law required it.

The current situation of the premises requires clarification. 'El País' published in 2019 that Rosa, the new manager of the business, had removed that decoration. The owner has now insisted in statements to 'El HuffPost' that the objects belonged to the previous owner, are no longer in the restaurant, and do not represent her family's ideas.

This clarification forces a distinction between the documented past of the establishment and its current state. The political issue is focused on the use of institutional resources to promote a private business and on the checks carried out by the president's team before disseminating the recommendation.

The opposition criticizes Ayuso

The PP of Madrid has defended that its leaders "do not usually mix ideology with eating" and maintains that the restaurant was chosen for its proximity and for the damage suffered during the fires. The Community of Madrid has avoided offering further explanations and has limited itself to telling EFE that it has "nothing to say".

The general secretary of the PSOE of Madrid, Óscar López, responded with irony. "Everyone goes where they feel most comfortable", he wrote when sharing old images of the establishment published by journalist Antonio Maestre, who described it as a "Francoist mausoleum".

Also the spokesperson for Más Madrid in the City Council of the capital, Rita Maestre, has censored the institutional promotion. "What a summer Ayuso is having", she pointed out next to several photographs of what she called "Francoist pearls" of the restaurant promoted "with the seal of the Community of Madrid".

While the controversy continued to grow this Wednesday, the video remained accessible on Ayuso's profiles, with the express recommendation to visit El Mirador de Pelayos and support businesses in the area.