The alleged case of sexual and workplace harassment attributed to Manuel Bautista, the PP mayor of Móstoles, against a councilwoman from his own group has generated a focus of political tension this Thursday after the complaint - according to publications by 'El País' - was filed internally and subsequently shelved by the Partido Popular of Madrid. The information has provoked reactions in different directions of the PP and criticism from the oppositionThe president of the Community of Madrid and leader of the regional PP, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has criticized during this morning's Plenary Session of the Assembly that the case of the mayor of Móstoles is being used to "harm the PP", and has described the information as "a fabricated case". In her speech, Ayuso pointed out that, in her opinion, the "real victims" of harassment are others and referred to the complainants in the environment of the former socialist advisor Paco Salazar.Meanwhile, the secretary general of the PP of Madrid, Alfonso Serrano, has defended that the affected councilwoman "denied" that there was harassment by the mayor when she was asked personally and has maintained that in the party "no one was pressured to cover up absolutely anything." Serrano assures that the complaint was dismissed for "lack of evidence and specificity, what is done is to dismiss it, because obviously we are not going to condemn anyone, basically because someone else reports it without providing any type of evidence."
Opposition
In addition to the reactions within the PP, the PSOE has accused the PP of Madrid of covering up the alleged harassment case of the mayor of Móstoles, Manuel Bautista, and has asked for explanations from the national leader of the party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo for "looking the other way" in what it considers a cover-up. According to the PSOE, the PP of Madrid knew about the harassment accusation and "covered it up," and furthermore "pressured a councilwoman not to report it".
Statements by Manuel Bautista
The mayor of Móstoles, Manuel Bautista, himself defended this Thursday his presumption of innocence after the dissemination of the alleged sexual harassment case and assured that "a story has been constructed that does not correspond to reality". Bautista stated that none of his councilors have asked him to resign and that there is no formal judicial accusation regarding these events, as well as that the case was dismissed by the PP's Committee on Rights and Guarantees. In a press conference, the mayor added that, in his opinion, journalistic information is not sufficient for political or judicial decisions to be made on the matter