In his argument published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), The executive of Pedro Sánchez affirmed that, under the Franco regime, the seat of government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso had become the offices and dungeons of the government. General Directorate of Security (DGS).
The Madrid presidential team and the Popular Party did not at all appreciate the initiative which, this week, began all the procedures to avoid this nomination. From the Regional Executive, they assure that the Royal Post Office (the building located in front of kilometer 0 zero of Puerta del Sol where the bells ring) was “much more” than the headquarters of the General Directorate of Security.
They assure that they will protect this building as a “symbol of concord and reconciliation of all Spaniards”. To this end, the Ministry of the Presidency has addressed allegations to the central government procedure which declares it Democratic place of memory.
According to him, the agreement “violates the autonomous powers in terms of management and defense of their property and the functioning of an autonomous institution.” All this taking into account that the building already has maximum protection Property of cultural interest.
Madrid City Hall
He The Ayuso team accuses Sánchez of having made a “unilateral decision” and of “distorting” the historical value of the building and “its role as the home of all Madrilenians”.
History of the building
The Royal Post Office, over time, was the central post office, witness to the events of May 2, 1808 and housed the General Captaincy, the Military government and the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior, even under the Popular Front government.
Furthermore, in the memory of all Madrilenians and Spaniards, it is linked, for example, to the celebration each year of Chimes and with kilometer 0 of the radial roads.
“Trying to link this historic building to the Franco regime is truly scandalous. The Royal Post Office has more than 250 years of history and has witnessed multiple events that our city and region have experienced and, in addition, has had uses different”, underlined the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Local Administration, and spokesperson for the government of the Community of Madrid, Miguel Ángel García Martín.
As García emphasized, public authorities have “the obligation to protect and preserve neutrality, plurality, harmony, respect for history, the institutional image, the meaning and current use of the headquarters of the Presidency of the Community of Madrid”.
“Currently, it is the seat of the regional government, a space of harmony and for all Madrid residents. This is why we are going to use all the legal resources at our disposal to try to put an end to this barbarity which “attacks the exclusive powers available to the autonomous government”he added.
The allegations
In the text, the central government is asked to archive the file of the declaration for having been the General Directorate of Security in the period between 1939 and 1979“when it comes to a building with more than two and a half centuries of history.”
The Regional Executive, among the arguments presented, specifies that “The agreement violates the competences of the Community of Madrid in matters of management of its heritage, defense of historical heritage, functioning of an autonomous institution and attacks the functioning of an autonomous institution.
Furthermore, he denounces that “the State acted with a total lack of institutional loyalty”, without any prior communication of such a relevant subject before its publication in the BOE.
THE Community of Madrid considers that “the ministry interprets history in a biased way, because a tiny period of the Royal Post Office’s past cannot transform the true historical and symbolic meaning and impact that the building has on collective memory”. In addition, remember that “it has maximum protection because Property of cultural interest“.
Consequently, he specifies, “the necessary conditions required by Law 20/2022, on Democratic Memory, are not met to be able to carry out the planned declaration which, if it materialized, would be contrary” to it. .
Furthermore, the regional executive recalls that the Royal Post Office“a symbol of harmony and the history of Spain in the heart of Madrid”, has on its main facade three plaques in homage and memory of the uprising against the French invasion, the victims of the 11-M and those who died during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Every New Year’s Eve it is the meeting point of millions of Spaniards during the bells of its mythical clock. It was the seat of the Community of Madrid for four decades and its complete renovation in the late 90s was inaugurated by Their Majesties the Kings of Spain”, they add.
“THE Gate of the Sun, that citizens have consolidated over the centuries as a center for expressing their plural opinions, their desire for harmony and their characteristic vitality, was chosen years ago to house the institution that came to serve their interests and be their common home in the new democratic sphere established by the Constitution”, expressed the monarch in his speech, adding that it is also a “symbol of pluralism and diversity of Community of Madrid“.
At the same time, the Popular Parliamentary Group (GPP) will present this Monday an amendment to the Madrid Assembly for the incorporation of a new chapter in Law 1/1983 of the Government and Administration of Community of Madrid, through the proposed law of measures aimed at improving public management at the local and regional level of the Community of Madrid.
This initiative aims to strengthen the protection of Royal Post Office as the seat of the presidency of the Community of Madrid and common home of all Madrid residents.
