For the past five days, millions of people in Spain
have once again
been able to indulge in moments of luxury that would have been mundane routines just two months ago.
Across half the country, they have been able to meet up with friends and family, and to sit outside bars and sip a café con leche or a cold, refreshing caña (beer). But not so in Madrid or Barcelona.
On Friday the Spanish health ministry denied the Madrid regional government’s second request to join the 70% of the country in the next phase of relaxation of some of the strictest lockdown measures in Europe.
Since it denied permission for such easing last week, people in and around the capital have been unable to meet up or enjoy a physically distanced alfresco drink or meal.
The president of the Madrid region, which is governed by the conservative People’s party (PP), has railed against the ministry’s decision to leave the area in phase zero.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso
accused the Socialist-led coalition government on Thursday
of “tak
ing advantage of the biggest crisis in Spain’s recent history to impose a single, dictatorial authority”.
Bombastic as her language was, the sentiment has been echoed on the streets of one of Madrid’s wealthiest and most exclusive barrios.
For the past few days, dozens of people in the city’s Salamanca neighbourhood, where the PP and the far-right Vox party took 61% of the vote in last November’s general election, have taken to the streets to demand the government’s resignation and shout, “¡Libertad!”, or “Freedom!”
The protests have raised concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the area of Spain hit hardest by the pandemic. The Madrid region has accounted for 66,005 of Spain’s 230,183 Covid-19 cases to date and 8,809 of its 27,459 deaths.
The demonstrations have been mocked online using the hashtag #CayeBorroka – a pun on the posh boy’s name Cayetano and kale borroka, the street-level campaign of violence and vandalism waged in support of the terrorist group Eta in the 1980s and 90s.
The government has defended people’s right to protest, but called on them to behave responsibly. “Everyone’s always got the right to protest and even, if only for a short time, to make a lot of loud noise,” the science minister, Pedro Duque, said. “But the only thing we need to be careful about is that we’re in an epidemic situation, and so if you’re protesting, you need to maintain distances to avoid infection.”
Things are somewhat calmer in Barcelona, which will also have to wait until at least 25 May to move to phase one. Some rural areas of Catalonia have been given the green light, but health authorities say it is still too soon and too risky to ease many of the restrictions in force in the capital and most of the surrounding province.
Alba Vergés, the Catalan health minister, said infection rates were falling throughout the region, but that she was worried more populated areas lacked the resources to follow up new cases and trace contacts.
The death rate is proportionately very high in Catalonia. Forty-two per cent of all coronavirus deaths reported in Spain on Friday occurred in the region, down from 60% on Thursday.
As a compromise, Vergés has proposed what she called “phase 0.5”. Bar and restaurant terraces would remain closed, travel would be restricted to the municipal area, and groups of 10 or more would not be allowed to meet. Hotels would stay shut.
Shops, libraries, open-air markets and places of worship would be permitted to open, but capacity would be limited by physical distancing requirements.
Barcelona province is home to nearly five million of the region’s 7.5 million inhabitants, most of them concentrated in the towns that ring the capital. L’Hospitalet, home to 260,000 people to the south-west of Barcelona, has been cited as Europe’s most densely populated urban area.
Despite the lockdown setback, there has been no campaign or pot-banging protests about the decision, and most people appear to accept it with the same equanimity they have shown throughout the crisis.
“There’s just a minority, mostly young people, who aren’t sticking to the rules,” said Maria Eugenia, a Colombian who lives in L’Hospitalet.
Vocabulary:
Comments
There is contrast between Madrid and Barcelona because the majority of people of Madrid is against this disastrous (I don´t want to rail against and I want to avoid other adjectives because I am writing in your blog) government and people from Barcelona are agree with this government. The demonstrations began before the Spanish health ministry denied passing to next phase one. This refusal of the Spanish ministry increased the protests which had begun already. The demonstrations not only are in Madrid but all over Spain now. There are in Carabanchel, Vallecas, Móstoles and so on, that they are not luxury places. There are a lot of nerves, but I don´t know why, because it is a constitutional right. Perhaps we are not as democratic as boast. Perhaps we talk about democracy bombastic sometimes and when there is a setback they are not up to it.
I want to specify that it is Cayetanos instead of Cayatanos. It is not true that Government had excluded Barcelona but Barcelona didn´t request it. Alba Berges is not minister but counselor.
The dead in the world overtake the figure of 300.000. Every government of one country with dead people should resign and these country should designate the management that manages their countries. I´m devastated. I can´t believe it. Everybody is afraid and is home for more than three months. A lot of people don´t have money to go to the market and need help. Luckily countries, like Portugal and Greece, were sensible and they have saved many people.
See you.
mistakes were made throughout this crisis and a number of issues could have been handled better. Having said that, I think much of the criticism is unfair and many are using the crisis to advance their political agenda.
Nobody enjoys the restrictions to normal life and many people are suffering and I mean really suffering - losing loved ones and many with no money to put food on the table. I really doubt that those protesting were in danger of going hungry. They want to get back to their pilates class, have a G&T with their pals in the neighbourhood bars, go shopping for clothes or spend weekends at their holiday homes.
It is of politicians to their supporters to take to the streets and increase the likelihood of another wave of infections (very few of them maintained social distancing). I only wish the police showed them the same brutality that was meted out to Catalan voters in 2017. A couple of weeks previously, youngsters partying in Malasaña were handed out heavy fines. It appears that if you gather in C/ Nuñez de Balboa you can get away with things. There are many ways of demonstrating your disapproval of politicans (bang your pots and pans from balconies, sign online petitions etc) but organising mass gatherings will lead to more deaths (so say the scientific and medical professions).
And WTF are they draping themselves in the Spanish flag for? I could go on but I'll hold back for now.
There is a contrast between Madrid and Barcelona because the majority of people in Madrid are against this disastrous (I don´t want to rail against it and I want to avoid other adjectives because I am writing in your blog) government whereas people from Barcelona agree with this government. The demonstrations began before the Spanish health ministry denied permission to pass to phase one. This refusal of the Spanish ministry led to an increase in protests which had begun already. The demonstrations are not only in Madrid but all over Spain now. There are protests in Carabanchel, Vallecas, Móstoles and so on, which are not luxury places. Many people are afraid, but I don't know why, because it is a constitutional right. Perhaps we are not as democratic as we claim to be. Perhaps we talk about democracy in a bombastic way sometimes and when there is a setback politicians are found to be not up to the job.
I should point out that it is Cayetanos instead of Cayatanos. (It was a typo - I spelt it correctly in Twitter) It is not true that the government had excluded Barcelona but Barcelona didn´t request any help. Alba Berges is not a minister but a councillor. (I think you are wrong)
The death toll in the world has gone over the 300.000 figure. Every government with virus-related deaths should resign and these countries should designate the management that manages their countries. I´m devastated. I can´t believe it. Everybody is afraid and has been stuck at home for more than three months. A lot of people don´t have money to go to the market and need help. Luckily countries, like Portugal and Greece, were sensible and they have saved many people.