Almeida's controversy for blaming the 'Trans Law' for the lack of firefighters ignites social media again

A video of José Luis Martínez-Almeida blaming the 'Trans Law' for the lack of firefighters in Madrid has once again circulated on social media amidst the crisis caused by fires ravaging different parts of Spain. The images have unleashed a wave of indignation and comments against the mayor, although they correspond to September 8, 2025.

Almeida uttered those words during the Debate on the State of the City. The mayor boasted about the positions announced by his government when he offered an explanation that caused astonishment in the opposition. "There are currently no 126 firefighters and 60 specialist drivers on the streets of Madrid because of the infamous Trans Law that you approved in the Congress of Deputies," he stated from the Palacio de Cibeles.

The mayor added that no other law had caused as much harm to women as the 'only yes means yes' law and the 'Trans Law'. The recording has reappeared almost eleven months later, coinciding with the large fires that have forced the evacuation of numerous municipalities and have brought back to the forefront the debate about the staffing and resources of emergency services.

Some users have shared the video as if Almeida had made those statements now. His reference to municipal firefighters has also been directly linked to the fires in the Sierra Oeste, despite the fact that the prevention and extinction of forest fires is the responsibility of the Community of Madrid through ASEM 112. The City Council's Corps provides service in the capital, although its resources can be incorporated as support to the regional operation when mobilized.

The opponent Almeida turned into a general explanation

The mayor's accusation stemmed from the case of an applicant who legally changed sex during the selection process and requested to perform the physical tests with the marks set for women. The candidate was initially excluded, managed to be readmitted after presenting appeals, and ended up out of the procedure after exceeding the permitted testosterone level for the female category in an anti-doping control.

Almeida used that episode to blame the entire 'Trans Law' for the fact that 126 firefighters and 60 drivers had not yet been incorporated. However, the process also received appeals from other applicants for different circumstances, and the municipal documentation does not present the case of that candidate as the sole cause of all the accumulated delays.

The video has provoked new criticism from left-wing leaders this Tuesday. The spokesperson for Podemos, Pablo Fernández, has accused the mayor of exhibiting "moral misery" and has defined his words as a sample of the "ethical rottenness of the PP".

Irene Montero has also intervened in the controversy. "Almeida says that the fault for the fires is the trans law but then they ask us not to ideologize and all united in the face of catastrophes", the MEP has published.

Rita Maestre denounces hoaxes and Almeida ratifies himself

Rita Maestre has recovered the recording to criticize municipal management and recall the situation denounced by the firefighters themselves. The spokesperson for Más Madrid accuses the mayor of having used trans people to evade criticism for the lack of personnel.

Almeida has responded this Tuesday from the Madrid Planetarium and has ratified his version. The mayor maintains that the staff has grown by 10% since 2019, assures that the budget of the Fire Department has practically doubled and maintains his commitment to reach 1,700 personnel before the end of the legislature.

"What is indecent is that the incorporation of an entire promotion had to be delayed because a person decided to take advantage of the Trans Law to obtain an undue advantage", he replied. Almeida has also accused Maestre of lying and has stated that this year more firefighters will be incorporated than during the four years of Manuela Carmena's municipal government.

The lack of personnel has been causing protests within the Corps for months. Unions have reported workweeks of up to 72 hours, a deficit of operational staff, and continuous use of overtime to keep fire stations open. CCOO filed a lawsuit last June for alleged crimes against workers' rights, serious reckless injury, and administrative prevarication by omission.

The legal action cited by Maestre is directed against Enrique López Ventura, former general director of Firefighters dismissed last June 11, and against Carlos Marín de la Bárcena, head of the Corps. Almeida is not personally listed as a defendant in that procedure.