The autonomous Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso has intensified in the last week its judicial and institutional offensive against the encampment for the right to housing installed in the Puerta del Sol last September 26, a protest that the Community of Madrid considers “absolutely illegal” and whose eviction it has demanded practically since the first day.
At the beginning of the protest, the Madrid Executive focused on the damage to the protected heritage of the square and the economic harm to businesses in the area, but, in recent days, it has significantly raised the tone, to the point of insinuating the possible presence of terrorists among the demonstrators and reporting to the Prosecutor's Office “possible hate crimes” against Isabel Díaz Ayuso herself.
The first step to try to force the eviction occurred on September 29, when the spokesman for the regional Government and Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Local Administration, Miguel Ángel García Martín, sent a requirement to the Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, with an ultimatum: if the protest was not dismantled within 48 hours, the Community would go to the courts.
Francisco Martín disregarded the claim, arguing that he was acting appropriately and that the concentration falls within the fundamental right of assembly, and, from there, the Community of Madrid went to the contentious-administrative jurisdiction with a request for very urgent precautionary measures, in a move that sought for Justice to force the Delegation to evict the square.
On September 31, the Community of Madrid filed the contentious-administrative appeal with a request for very urgent precautionary measures, with the intention that Justice would force the Government Delegation to evict the square.
The Community argued that the encampment is an “illegal occupation of public space” that causes harm to tourism and commerce, and accused the Government Delegation of not having acted to protect the Real Casa de Correos, headquarters of the Madrid Executive, from damage to the facade, nor the statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree.
The TSJM rejects very urgent precautionary and precautionary measures
The case was elevated to the High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM), which in two orders, the last of which was issued on October 7, rejected both the very urgent precautionary measures and the precautionary measures requested by the Government of Díaz Ayuso.
Without going into the merits of the matter, the magistrates considered that, at this procedural moment, the administrative inactivity of the Government Delegation has not been proven and pointed out that, in this type of case, a period of three months must be awaited to file an appeal for inactivity.
Yesterday, the Community of Madrid filed an appeal for reconsideration against the order that denied the precautionary measures.
The insinuations about terrorist groups
On Saturday, October 10, at a rally of the Popular Party (PP), Isabel Díaz Ayuso asked the Government Delegation “to know if it is true that there is a group that has had pro-Palestinian terrorist backgrounds managing the encampment”.
The statements came after, on October 1, the pro-Israeli organization based in Spain Acción y Comunicación sobre Oriente Medio (ACOM) publicly stated that the Samidoun network of support for Palestinian prisoners, banned in several countries, was present at the encampment.
Another argument put forward by the regional Executive focuses on the risks that the protest, it claims, could entail for Metro travelers, especially in case of an urgent evacuation or an intervention by emergency services, as stated by the Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, in a letter sent on Tuesday to the Government delegate.
The path before the Prosecutor's Office and the criminal option
In parallel, the Community of Madrid activated yesterday a new judicial path by reporting to the Prosecutor's Office threats, insults and offensive expressions such as “Ayuso, clown, I will squat your house” or “Ayuso die”, which, in the opinion of the autonomous Government, could constitute “hate crimes”.
The Community has not ruled out opening criminal proceedings against the Government delegate, an action that Vox has already undertaken, which filed a complaint against Francisco Martín on Monday, nor going to the Supreme Court to force the eviction of the Puerta del Sol.