Óscar López has accused Alberto Núñez Feijóo this Thursday of "fattening up the far-right" after years of trying to dispute the far-right Vox's discourse. The Minister for Digital Transformation launched the reproach in Madrid, after participating in the IV International Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence, and linked it to the PP's response to the death of Maricarmen Abascal. In his opinion, at a time like this, it is time to show "empathy".
For López, Feijóo was wrong to "imitate, copy and belittle himself" with Vox's positions. He has maintained that the tension and insults have not strengthened the PP and that, at this point, "it is a bit late" to rectify. His statements come with the general elections on November 29 called and with housing at the center of the political confrontation.
The death of Maricarmen and the housing decrees
The minister also responded to Feijóo, who this Thursday accused the Government of trying to "emotionally manipulate" citizens with Maricarmen's case. López has conveyed his condolences for the death of the 87-year-old woman, and has criticized the hate messages spread around her. He also reproached the PP for its lack of empathy and the absence of minutes of silence in the institutions governed by the popular party.
Maricarmen died this Wednesday, two weeks after being evicted from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for 71 years. The agreement reached later for her to return came while she was hospitalized and she could never return home. Her eviction triggered the housing encampment in Puerta del Sol and protests in other cities.
López has defended that the political response must try to prevent similar cases from recurring and has pointed to the two government housing decrees as part of that response. Both were rejected by Congress last Friday, a defeat after which Pedro Sánchez announced the early election. The Council of Ministers re-approved them this Tuesday and the first, which includes measures against evictions of vulnerable people, came into force this Thursday. The texts are pending validation by the Permanent Deputation.
Despite the dissolution of the Cortes, López has insisted that the Executive is "fully in force" and will continue working "until the last day". He explained that it will approve measures that depend directly on the Council of Ministers and will go to the Permanent Deputation when an initiative needs parliamentary validation. Asked about the general housing strike called for November 11, he expressed his respect for both those who promote it and the unions that have decided not to join.
A decree for data centers before the elections
In the scope of his ministry, López has confirmed that the Government wants to approve the royal decree on data centers before 29N. The norm seeks to establish requirements for energy sustainability, environmental impact, resilience, and digital sovereignty for facilities whose resource consumption is growing with the development of artificial intelligence.
The approval still does not have a closed date. As the minister explained, the Executive must study the numerous allegations received during the public consultation and agree on a position among the ministries involved. As it is a royal decree, its approval corresponds to the Government and does not require the parliamentary validation that housing decree-laws do need.
López intervened in the act in which the advisory council, chaired by Manuel Castells, presented the Madrid Manifesto for Responsible AI. The document proposes strengthening the supervision of this technology, the protection of minors, and the responsibility of the companies that develop it. The minister defended that these proposals guide future norms, while the Executive continues the processing of the data center decree.
