Ayuso will entrench herself in the defense of her Government while the controversy over the purchase of the Chamberí penthouse increases

The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, faces this Thursday the last Debate on the State of the Region (DER) of the legislature, in a context marked by the continuous controversies surrounding her Executive, such as the purchase of the luxury penthouse.

In this regard, Ayuso will try to defend in her speech, which will begin at 12:00 p.m., with no time limit and no reply from the opposition, the management of the Madrid Government and it is expected that she will divert the focus from the issues surrounding her Executive, increasing criticism of the Government of Pedro Sánchez and its management of the migratory crisis in Ceuta.

However, the opposition parties already announced that on Friday, on the second day of the DER, they will ask the Madrid president for explanations regarding the purchase of the property. In this vein, Más Madrid will demand that Ayuso answer "who ordered the purchase of that penthouse, when it was, and how much it will cost the people of Madrid."

Cracks increase in the Ayuso Government's version

The newspaper 'El País' has exclusively revealed that the company that formalized the purchase of the luxury penthouse in Chamberí, Planifica Madrid, for the Community of Madrid presided over by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, owned an empty office of 478 square meters. Likewise, it was located next to Plaza de Castilla. This new information again casts doubt on the explanations provided by the Madrid Executive, who stated that the acquisition of the property was carried out to temporarily house the offices of the Real Casa de Correos, while it was under construction.

Added to this information is that published by 'ElPlural.com' which reveals that the property had an open urban planning disciplinary file that prevented its previous owner from carrying out works in 2014 and 2015 and also includes reforms on the terrace that, according to 'laSexta', were carried out without declaring to the City Council.

The luxury penthouse acquired by the Community of Madrid to be used as an office by Isabel Díaz Ayuso has accumulated urban planning problems for decades. According to what ElPlural.com published this Tuesday, the property, located on Paseo del General Martínez Campos and purchased by Planifica Madrid for 6.3 million euros, has an urban planning disciplinary file open since 1964, with subsequent reforms that would not have a license.

The media claims to have had access to a resolution from the Chamberí District Board that in 2015 ordered the then owner, writer Astrid Gil-Casares, to refrain from carrying out renovation works in the home. The document identifies the address of the property and states that the intended actions could not be carried out due to the urban planning situation of the penthouse.

The penthouse file entrenches itself behind a burofax

The PSOE of Madrid has denounced that Planifica Madrid has refused to provide a socialist deputy with the complete file of the purchase of the Chamberí penthouse acquired for 6.3 million euros by the public company dependent on the Ministry of the Presidency. The documentation was requested by regional deputy Tatiana Jiménez, who received a burofax as a response – according to 'Público' – in which she is told that she must process her request through the Assembly of Madrid.

The socialist parliamentarian had requested the file last August 6, after the real estate operation and the subsequent decision of Isabel Díaz Ayuso's Government to put the property up for sale came to light. Planifica Madrid maintains that requests for information addressed to the regional Executive must be channeled through parliamentary procedures. The PSOE, for its part, questions the operation and considers that the property, which was going to be temporarily used as Ayuso's office during the works of the Real Casa de Correos, is a "luxury apartment" that would not have the necessary authorization to function as an office.

The acquisition of the penthouse occurred in April and was not publicly communicated at that time. The operation came to light on July 29 and, the next day, the Community announced that it would sell the home, setting a starting price of 6.69 million euros and committing to allocate the funds obtained to the recovery of the areas affected by this summer's fires in the Sierra Oeste of Madrid.

The controversy continues after Ayuso again avoided giving explanations yesterday about the purchase. Asked during her visit to San Martín de Valdeiglesias, the Madrid president chose to close the matter with the expression “It's for sale, bye bye”. Her words also come after the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, acknowledged that he knew since April that the regional Executive was looking for a space to temporarily move its offices while works were carried out at the headquarters of the Madrid Presidency.