At around two in the morning, visitors - the regular ones and the occasional ones - are invited to leave the premises of Cava Baja, the
small crescent-shaped street in the
Madrid neighborhood of La Latina that, according to the Spaniards, houses
the highest index of bars and restaurants per square meter in the universe
.
At that time, the narrow street with passage for only one car at a time becomes almost pedestrian.
And along those 350 meters of Cava Baja populated by 63 establishments -54 of which are for eating or drinking-, clusters of couples, groups of tourists or bachelor parties parade,
extending the Madrid night as long as they can
.
Something that the Minister of Labor and vice president of the government, Yolanda Díaz,
does not see so favorably
.
“A country that keeps its restaurants open until one in the morning is not reasonable,”
he said a few days ago, opening the door to a controversy that put bar and restaurant owners on alert.
“Making us close earlier is
killing us
,” they agree.
The Minister of Labor insisted: “It is crazy to continue extending hours until we don't know what time,” she added, citing the
differences with other European countries
.
“It is not up to any minister in Spain to say what time Spaniards or tourists who visit us can or cannot dine,”
Emilio Gallego, general secretary of the Spanish Hospitality Business Confederation, tells
Clarín .
Queue to enter one of the establishments in Cava Baja, the street in the La Latina neighborhood that is 350 meters long with the highest density of bars and restaurants per square meter.
Photo: Cézaro De Luca
The organization was founded in 1977 and represents
more than 300 thousand companies that make up the sector
.
“In Spain, constitutionally, we have an
exercise of business freedom
.
The Spanish Constitution does not prohibit, in any case, that at one in the morning, if they have the corresponding license, restaurants can continue offering meals,” says Gallego.
“We go so far as to say that it seems like
determining a curfew
,” he emphasizes.
The business confederation highlights that “the hospitality industry is made up of more than 300 thousand establishments that employ 1.76 million people and has a sales volume of
122,862 million euros
, with a contribution to the GDP of the Spanish economy close to 6 %”.
Its general secretary is forceful:
“In Spain you have dinner whenever the client wants
. ”
“If there is a need to provide these types of services at certain times, in a free and market economy, that activity can be carried out as long as the establishment has the appropriate license,” says Gallego.
And he questions the minister's statements: “It is confusing the part with the whole.
All bars and restaurants in Spain are not open at one in the morning.
But it is very possible that in an environment such as Gran Vía, in Madrid, where there are musical shows that end at 11:30 and 12 at night, you can find that on that street, at that time, there are between two thousand and four thousand people who are leaving those theaters - he cites as an example -.
And some want to have a drink, others want something to snack on.
It is logical that there are establishments that have their doors open at that time
.”
“They want us bored and at home”
In Spain, restaurants, bars, cafes and pubs employ almost 1.4 million people and have a turnover of 90.7 billion euros, 4.3 percent of the national GDP.
“We are contrary to the opinion expressed by the vice president and Minister of Labor because we consider that
the establishment of business hours
is not her concern and that it is not her political responsibility ,” Gallego emphasizes.
In our country, that is a competence that corresponds to the autonomous communities and city councils.”
The regional president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, took advantage of the controversy to highlight: “
We are different.
Spain has the best nightlife in the world, with the streets full of life and freedom.
And that also provides employment,” she assured.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, defends Madrid's nightlife.
Photo: Cézaro de Luca
Criticizing the initiatives of the coalition government between PSOE and Sumar, the party founded by Minister Yolanda Díaz, the Madrid president ironically: “They want us to be puritans, materialists, socialists, without soul, without light and without restaurants because they feel like it - he listed.
Bored and at home
.”
The Minister of Labor did not delay her response: “The
frivolity
with which the president of the Community of Madrid raises the issues is astonishing,” said Yolanda Díaz.
The vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, criticizes the night hours of bars and restaurants in Spain.
Photo: Cézaro de Luca
“We are very much in favor of leisure.
We want to reduce the working day
.
We want people to be able to enjoy life, and the good life.
And that is why we propose measures that have to do with improving the quality of life - he highlighted -.
It is evident that the time zones in our country are very different from those in Europe.
It is not normal that in Spain we call work meetings at eight at night.
The only thing we are saying is that labor rights
must be respected
.”
After ten at night
“The nightlife that the president of the Community of Madrid boasts about seems to forget that, after ten at night,
the days are nocturnal
and, therefore, have certain risks,” said the minister.
“Any worker who works after ten at night knows that
it entails risks to their health
.
They have mental health risks at work and have to be compensated differently, he added.
And I know, from labor inspections, that in some places in our country these conditions can be improved.”
The businessmen respond: “Are we going to put an end to all night jobs then?
Because?
"I don't understand it," says Eduardo Basanta, executive director of La Musa, a gastronomic group with eight
bars
and restaurants in Madrid and in constant search of novelties for the Spanish palate.
“It seems outrageous to me.
I do not understand these limits or the
lack of freedom for the businessman
to make his own decisions - laments Basanta.
There are places that work very well after one hour and others that will have to close earlier.
The businessman himself will know if he is worth it or not.
If applicable, night stays will be paid, as this already exists.”
Spanish charm
Minister Yolanda Díaz based her statements on the fact that in the rest of the European countries,
bars and restaurants close earlier
.
“Why do we have to homogenize?
In recent years, European countries are becoming more and more like Mediterranean countries.
It is what they envy,” says the general secretary of the hospitality corporation.
Casa Lucio, one of the most traditional restaurants in Madrid where the kitchen closes around midnight.
Photo: Cézaro De Luca
“It seems to me that
cities that have nightlife are more complete,
” says Basanta.
We are a service and there are people who can leave late, right?
It is another service of a cosmopolitan city like Madrid.”
The businessman comments, on the other hand, that the pandemic left consequences on the habits of Spaniards.
“We are considering closing a little earlier, but not because the minister said so,” he clarifies.
Customs are changing and Spaniards
are going out to dinner earlier
and not staying for drinks as much.”
“Until a while ago, we closed the kitchen at one o'clock and left many people without dinner.
Now, people no longer come to dinner after twelve,” she says.
Madrid. Correspondent
ACE