Puente accuses the PP of turning the UME into its "extinction service" while lowering taxes for the rich

The crisis caused by the forest fires has opened this Friday a new political front between the Government and the Community of Madrid. After the Executive declared the emergency of national interest following the request made by the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso to take over the management of the operation, the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, has taken advantage of the situation to criticize the autonomous communities governed by the PP and question their dependence on the Military Emergency Unit (UME).

Through a message published on the social network 'X', Puente has ironized about the recourse of the popular regional governments to this military body. "We all have it clear that the UME is now the new fire extinguishing service of the autonomous communities of the PP", he wrote. The minister has linked this situation to the fiscal policy of these executives, whom he has accused of "reducing taxes on the rich, shrinking public services and then asking the Government to solve their problem".

Tenemos todos claro que la UME es ya el nuevo servicio de extinción de incendios de las comunidades autónomas gobernadas por el PP. Ellos reducen impuestos a los ricos, jibarizan los servicios públicos y luego le piden al gobierno que les resuelva la papeleta. https://t.co/YCY13dHyDv

— Óscar Puente (@oscar_puente_) July 24, 2026

Puente's message came after the Forest Firefighters of the Community of Madrid publicly denounced that they had not been activated to intervene in the fire declared in Almorox. The minister shared that publication and used it to reinforce his criticism of the management of the PP's regional governments during the current fire season.

Marlaska highlights coordination

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has defended that the collaboration between the Government and the Community of Madrid is being "perfect, absolute and of total loyalty, as it should be". The head of Interior avoided commenting on the statements of the Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, who had publicly questioned whether the request for help was due to a "technical incapacity, operational incapacity or because he understands that the evolution of the emergency will not be able to be controlled by the Community".