Aguado: "It is necessary to make a forceful stop of all and of up to 21 days to lower the curve in Madrid"

Ignacio Aguado (Madrid, 1983) assures that a loose verse is not felt within the Government of the Community.

The vice president of the region, however, is the only member of the Executive who has set a threshold of 25 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

He assures in this interview with EL PAÍS that it is necessary to make a forceful stop "of all" for seven, 14 or 21 days to be able to bend the contagion curve in Madrid and reach Christmas without too many restrictions.

Question

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What are they going to do next week when the state of alarm is lifted in Madrid?

Answer.

We hope to have a regional order that allows us to continue with new rules of the game until we can find a vaccine.

We will not be able to end the restrictions and we have to continue with them.

We have to get to Christmas with a cumulative incidence of 25 positive cases per 100,000.

That is the challenge, ambitious, but if we are able to reach those levels we will have saved the Christmas campaign and health.

You have to bet on strong measures that drastically lower the curve.

P.

In this ambitious goal, what is the Community willing to put that is not noise? How many media, trackers, doctors?

R.

The first thing we have to understand is that the division between administrations causes deaths.

Union saves lives.

We have to put aside the tension.

Politicians have to set political goals for ourselves.

I put it, 25 cases per 100,000.

Then the experts will tell us how to reach them.

I am not a doctor, nor an expert.

It has to be them.

Q.

And what do they say?

R.

Precisely the health technicians of the Ministry and the Community are analyzing the objectives because until now there were none.

The important thing now is to put down the guns… political.

Set achievable goals regarding the health threshold.

I propose: 25 and we are in 450 cases per 100,000.

Look at what there is to work.

I hope that ministry and counseling are in that line and come together.

Q.

You have been in meetings with health technicians from the Government and the Community.

Do they speak the same language?

A.

Yes, the technicians certainly do.

Those of us who often do not speak the same language are politicians.

P.

Yes, the noise of politicians reaches society, why don't we just listen to technicians?

R.

They have an advantage because they leave political discrepancies aside, which is what I claim.

They are able to agree even though no one has the instruction manual.

We politicians cannot be a hindrance or a problem for those decisions.

I hope that the technicians come up with a proposal and that the political Covid Group ratifies it.

Hopefully it will happen and soon, before next Friday.

We cannot think that an incidence of 450 or 300 is synonymous with going well because it is not true

P

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Are you in favor of limiting mobility to the capital if we continue at this level of contagion?

R.

I am in favor of doing what the technicians say.

Q.

Many medical technicians say so.

R.

Well, there are different opinions.

Of course, there are factors that affect the spread of the virus and one is mobility.

P.

He told the people of Madrid that they had to choose between being a virus or a vaccine.

What has Ayuso chosen asking for the state of alarm to be lifted?

R.

We all work to try to be a vaccine.

What I meant by that expression is that, as citizens, we all have a lot of responsibility.

Politicians can make decisions, but if each one does what they want then it is complicated.

If the quarantines are not met, it is useless.

If we have parties at home with 200 people, that does not contribute much to stop the pandemic.

It is in our power to choose what we want to be to avoid being a propagating effect of the virus.

Q.

And why is it asked then to raise the state of alarm?

R.

Many times we focus on the legal tool and I think the debate has to be on the measures and what we want to do.

I think that all administrations agree to certain restrictions.

Mayor Almeida and President Ayuso recommended that citizens not leave the bridge before the decree of the state of alarm.

I also recommended not leaving the bridge, the Government of Spain also.

Why?

Because we try to control mobility.

The virus does not move alone, we move it.

Agreeing on the restrictions, the legal tool is the least of it, we have to focus on the measures.

Q.

So why has the Madrid Superior Court of Justice rejected the Madrid measures and not those of the rest of the communities?

R.

The Justice of Madrid has overturned orders that were issued by the Government of Spain.

Our legal framework has not adapted to the need of a pandemic.

The TSJM considered that it was not necessary to ratify a section and that is the reason given by the Government for decreeing the state of alarm for 14 days.

I think the state of alarm could have been avoided.

The order could have been redone and prevented.

In any case, we are going to see how we can solve this transition from the state of alarm to a new legal reality that allows us to offer certainty to the people ahead of Friday.

I think the state of alarm could have been avoided.

The order could have been redone and prevented

Q.

How has the state of alarm been detrimental, if at all?

R.

It is a legal tool that affects the rights and freedoms of citizens.

It must have been used as a last resort.

It must be done in a consensual way, not imposed.

The tool has to pursue an end.

It is more important today to agree on what we want.

The measurements have to come from the experts.

Let's not discuss about the shell but about what is inside, which implies arriving at Christmas in the best of circumstances.

P.

Paris, as Ayuso de Madrid says, is the locomotive of France.

It has just declared a curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. with 240 cases, half of Madrid, and it will last between four and six weeks.

In London, from this weekend, meetings in public and private interior spaces and a curfew are prohibited in all bars. How do you explain that Madrid is going the opposite of these European capitals with more positive cases?

R.

I believe, first of all, that if we want to reach Christmas with a lower cumulative incidence, we have to make strong decisions and soon ... and more forceful.

It is proven that this way the curve goes down.

I am in favor of taking forceful measures during a fixed and clear and defined period of time rather than taking more lax measures that also prolong the agony of the economy.

We have been taking measures since the end of August, but the economic sector does not know when those measures will be lifted.

We are trying to be proportional to control the curve.

But maybe it is necessary to make a stop, a

that they say in Formula 1, for a few days defined, seven, 14 or 21, where we all make that stop, get down the curve and that allows us to reach Christmas with more guarantee.

Why am I saying this?

Because if we are not able to forcefully lower the curve, we will arrive at Christmas in a compromised situation: with beds with many ICU patients, with the flu, with more income, tourists will not be able to come, there will be more restrictions and we will harm merchants, There will be no Christmas campaign and we will see each other from the social point of view in a circumstance where it will be very difficult to raise our hands for families to regroup.

P.

So you are not in favor of opening the premises until 1.00.

R.

No, I am in favor of that from now on we have to adapt the strategy based on how events are going.

In a predetermined, defined and limited period of time, strong decisions have to be made that make the curve drop dramatically.

We are partners of the Government not subjects of anyone

P.

Extending the hours of the clubs until 1.00 is not a very strong measure.

R.

The explanation that they have given us from the Ministry of Health is that if the closing time is prolonged from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., the restaurant meeting will not be prolonged in the houses and the night ends.

It is not done to promote mobility and travel, but so that the party does not take home.

Infections occur mainly in homes because we think that our environment cannot infect us.

Q.

You are the only member of the Government who talks about reducing the rate of infections to 25 cases.

A desert surrounds you, do you feel a loose verse?

R

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We are all on the path to reducing incidence.

The reality is that we cannot think that an incidence of 450 or 300 is synonymous with going well because it is not true.

The curve has to reach winter with a low number of infections.

You have to work now.

Are we late?

Yes. But it's never too late if happiness is good.

Q.

For that you need more trackers.

Ayuso promised 1,500 a month and a half ago for October 15.

According to you right now there are 1,100, but the Minister of Finance said later that there are 1,089, 111 less.

Why is there so much trouble with trackers? Can't you hire more?

R.

I share what the Ministry of Health tells us.

They have the last word to hire more or less.

They do not tell us that there is a contract problem, but that there are 1,100 and that they continue to hire more.

Q.

You requested 150 from the Ministry of Defense, but Galicia and Andalusia have already requested double and even triple with an incidence of infections much lower than Madrid.

Why don't they ask for more?

The important thing now is to put down the guns… political.

R

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They are studying it.

There are many tracker profiles.

It is a technical topic that we have all read a lot about, but it is a decision of the Ministry of Health.

P. I

said in July that reinforcements would be hired depending on how the virus progresses.

Now, according to you, we are in a very high and very serious incidence.

Isn't one anticipating the virus by hiring more? Why weren't more hired in August?

R.

Well, we have gone from 250 to 400, 600, 800, 1,100.

Since May we have tripled and almost quadrupled the number of trackers.

Whether it is a lot or a little is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health.

I transfer what they say.

Whether the number of trackers is high or low is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health

P

.

He writes tweets announcing agreements with the Government of Spain that his Government breaks a day later.

How is it possible that the vice president and spokesperson is not informed of the measures taken by his own government?

R

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It is not a matter of which they inform us.

It is a coalition government and the PP has a majority and therefore the last word.

My opinion is that we must go through the political route and not through the judicial confrontation.

We are partners of the Government, not subjects of anyone.

Here the PP has the majority.

If it had been the other way around, things would have been different, but the reality is this.

We are government partners, we are not an army.

Q.

You said that you entered politics to be useful, but the ideas of Ciudadanos to make decisions during the pandemic hardly exist.

A.

It is not true.

On September 17, I asked the Government to get involved in Madrid.

Four days later, Sánchez came to Sol and then we started the Covid Group.

We have managed to authorize the Government of Madrid to hire non-EU doctors, 7,000 police officers, not to prolong the state of alarm and the deployment of the Army for disinfection work.

Other things we have not achieved?

Of course not.

But this is so.

The people of Madrid have placed me in the vice presidency.

The most useful thing at this time is to minimize tension and common goals as much as possible.

When the pandemic ends, we will look for who was responsible and who has to go home because they do not know how to manage.

During a pandemic, where a Madrilenian dies every 35 minutes, it does not seem reasonable to me to talk about motions of censure or to be at odds.

P.

On these dates should present the budgets in the Assembly.

Is Vox your priority group to get the majority and pass them?

R.

It has to play a relevant role in budgets.

He allowed the investiture and I think he has to play a relevant role.

You have to decide what to do if you want to build or if you want to keep fighting.

Q.

Always seek dialogue with all groups.

Mas Madrid, United We Can and PSOE have requested a meeting with you to discuss another way to govern Madrid. Will you sit down with them?

R

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I have no problem talking to all of them.

Also if it is a sincere dialogue to build and not to seek power.

Power has to be a means and not an end.

The Executive power rests today with the PP and Ciudadanos and that is how it will continue to be.

If they want proposals for initiatives or ways to expand majorities, I agree.

If you are looking for instability or a vote of no confidence, I do not agree.

It is just as responsible to promote a Vox motion of censure in Congress in the middle of a pandemic as it is for the PSOE, More Madrid and United We Can in the Community.

Q.

What do you think your party did wrong to go from 57 to 10 deputies in the last general election?

It is a question that has not yet had an answer in Ciudadanos.

R.

Nor do I think it contributes much in these circumstances.

What happened happened and there may be many elements to take into account that of course we have to learn.

I think there are moderate Spaniards who believe that politicians do not have to be protagonists every day on the news.

There are three years until the elections and when the time comes to vote, we will see if they make us go up or down.

P

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You want to occupy the center.

In his party they say that it is an uncomfortable position to be in the center.

Does it feel like this?

A.

No, I feel very comfortable.

The center is more important than ever.

We must call for solutions and raise the prestige of politics because it is on the ground.

I would like us in Madrid to go out into the streets to honk the horn demanding unity at Christmas and not the division between Spaniards.

I would like that when we go to parliament we go out with agreed measures and not lifting guns, even if they were simulated.

Because that makes me angry and angry.

P.

Ayuso spoke precisely of pistols in Parliament in the plenary session on Thursday.

In fact, the Assembly is experiencing a very tense atmosphere.

When you get home, have you ever considered throwing in the towel?

A.

No, quite the opposite.

It gives me more reasons for politics to be useful.

My moral duty is this.

P.

All parties except Vox have reached an agreement with 214 measures for the health crisis in Madrid.

The document was to be delivered to the president on Thursday, but it was not.

R.

That should remain an anecdote.

The important thing is that all the parties except Vox, which is in its particular battle, we are able to agree.

When the Spaniards judge us, I hope they see that there were people who were for the union and others for the confrontation and the train crash.

P.

Ayuso also left the plenary session when you gave an account of the Covid Group.

R. He

would have his reasons.

It is also an anecdote.

I know that the plenary session follows from the office.

She is the president and has many things to do.

The plenary sessions are long and many times you have to be absent.

P.

Is Ayuso the best president that Madrid can have right now?

R.

I ran for the election to be president.

My will is to work this legislature to move forward with this coalition government and, facing the next elections, grow as a party and aspire to lead the Community of Madrid and the Government of Spain.