The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and her right-hand man, Alfonso Serrano, have publicly assured during today that there are no indications of sexual or labor harassment by the mayor of Móstoles, Manuel Bautista, as denounced by the former PP councilor in the municipality. Serrano even described the complaint as a "labor dispute" and stated that, in one of the meetings with the victim, she denied that it was harassment.However, these statements clash with the messages and documents published by 'El País' which show a different version of the PP's internal management of the complaint. The then Deputy Secretary of Organization of the party, Ana Millán, and Alfonso Serrano asked the councilwoman not to make her complaint public or go to court, warning her that it could harm her personal and family life. In the exchanged messages, Millán even asked her: “Is it really worth it for you? For your children, for yourself, for your father?”, urging her to remain silent
These contacts occurred after the former councilwoman sent several letters and participated in meetings with the PP leadership, in which she explicitly requested that the internal protocol for prevention and action against harassment be activated and that intervention measures be taken. According to the information published, the party officials took no effective action, so the councilwoman finally decided to leave the PP on October 3, 2024, denouncing in her letter to Ayuso that she had felt completely helpless.
"Hereby I request my resignation from the Popular Party motivated by the lack of support I have had" began said letter.
This case continues to generate criticism about how the party has shown itself to manage this situation and the opposition blames the Popular Party for not offering the councilwoman the respective support in these situations. In the leaked documents, it is shown how her complaints were ignored and they evidencethe lack of protection and support within the party in situations of harassment.