The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday of maintaining an “illegal occupation” of Casa Árabe by refusing to convene the Governing Council that must formalize the exit of the Community of Madrid from the institution and the eviction of the Escuelas Aguirre building.
During the meeting of the municipal Government team that marks the start of the political term, the mayor stated that “the building has maintenance problems that have resulted in structural damage” and warned that there is a risk to the safety of workers and visitors. In addition, he held the Ministry responsible for any incident that might occur and announced that the City Council is studying “taking legal action” to force the convening of that body and recover possession of the building.
Almeida maintained that Foreign Affairs has “the majority and the authority” to convene the Governing Council and has not responded to the City Council’s requests. The mayor also pointed out that nets have been installed to prevent the fall of eaves, cornices, or fragments of these elements onto the street or the Casa Árabe grounds. Once the building is vacated, he added, the City Council will enter “immediately” to carry out the renovation and consolidation works it considers urgent.
The statements come on the same day the deadline set by the City Council to leave the building expires. Early Tuesday morning, no visible movement had occurred. The building remains closed, except for passage areas and gardens, while workers are teleworking. “The exhibitions and the interior of the headquarters are also not open to the public,” sources from the institution confirmed to this newspaper.
The dispute has been ongoing since June 29, when the City Council formally communicated, during an extraordinary meeting of the Governing Council of Casa Árabe, its decision to recover the former Escuelas Aguirre. The municipal building has housed the institution’s main headquarters in Madrid since March 2008.
The municipal Government justified the decision due to the deterioration of the building and the need to carry out rehabilitation, conservation, and consolidation work. Although the agreement allowed for its return with 15 days’ notice, the City Council set September 1 as the deadline to vacate it. Those defending Casa Árabe’s continued presence consider, however, that the works could be carried out without definitively evicting the institution.
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The City Council maintains that the exit of the Community of Madrid from the consortium allows it to recover the building according to the temporary and free transfer decree approved in 2008. Almeida then stated that the City Council had given a “vote of confidence” to Casa Árabe, but the situation had not improved. He also said he had tried to reach an agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without success. The City Council has not yet specified the building’s final use. “We want an open use for all Madrilenians; one of them could perfectly be cultural,” Almeida said.
The opposition has asked the mayor to back down. Más Madrid councilor Cuca Sánchez has urged Almeida to “rectify, there is still time” and stop a “nonsense” that, in her opinion, threatens the continuity of an institution dedicated for almost two decades to dialogue between Spain and the Arab world.
The PSOE has focused its criticism on the lack of documentation. Pedro Barrero, secretary general of the Socialist Municipal Group, has asked Almeida to “stop looking for culprits and start showing the documents that support all his statements.” The councilor has requested the legal and technical reports on which the City Council bases the accusation of “illegal occupation” and the existence of a risk to people’s safety.
This Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., the students of Casa Árabe have called a gathering in the gardens of Escuelas Aguirre against the eviction of the institution, under the slogan “Casa Árabe is not to be touched.”
