The account given by the former councilwoman of Móstoles in the complaint, describing the situations she experienced with the mayor, Manuel Bautista, is shocking to anyone. To anyone, except Ayuso, who again defended him, assuring that he is “magnificent” and “does a first-class job”.
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The president of Madrid acted like Vito Corleone. She sent her hitmen, Serrano, alias “and how do you flirt,” and Ana Millán, to gag the victim, even reminding her of her family so she wouldn’t report it. They accessed her email to delete data. And all this while she was meeting with the mayor. She made it clear whose side she was on.
Ayuso, in her contempt for women, did not expect the former councilwoman to defy her by raising her voice. Again, she set in motion the PP’s mafia machinery and leaked her identity to the press. That’s why the victim reported them. And that’s why the complaint against what was her party has been admitted for processing. It smells like a crime that’s hard to ignore.
In recent weeks, I have thought a lot about what the women of the Popular Party will go through. It’s been 25 years since the Nevenka case, but they have learned nothing. Just like then, the top brass has closed ranks with the mayor. In a plenary session, they gave him a standing ovation when he said he felt persecuted like a Jew by Nazism. The only ones who ended up on the street that day were the opposition deputies whom he expelled from the city council. The protocol against sexual harassment is conspicuously absent. And everyone who supported the victim has been purged, even heavyweights like Elisa Vigil. And all this with a Feijóo who remains silent and grants permission so that his boss Ayuso doesn’t move his chair.
The message for women in Móstoles and Madrid is atrocious. If the person who should protect us from gender violence has treated her own colleague this way, the rest of us mean nothing to her.
What happened cannot go unpunished. One in four women suffers sexual harassment in the workplace. They need to know that they are not alone. That those who do it will pay. Bautista should have been dismissed two months ago. But he remains protected, even though the complaint has been admitted. Hopefully, justice will be swift and there will be reparation for the victim. For her and for all.
Nor can those who cover up and persecute escape. The president of Madrid and her gang must be out of institutions. Because the only one doing a first-class job is Ayuso in favor of machismo, which is becoming more emboldened every day in this region.
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