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The Government is willing to declare a curfew if Madrid requests it and the PP supports the state of alarm

2020-10-20T18:07:02.677Z


Moncloa hopes that the community and other regions will demand this measure but sees it as reasonable New drastic measure against the coronavirus and new political controversy. The Government is willing to decree a night curfew for all of Spain or only for the communities that request it, as Madrid seems to intend. But he considers that in order to approve it it is essential to use the legal instrument of the state of alarm, because it is about limiting a fundamental right such as leaving home at


New drastic measure against the coronavirus and new political controversy.

The Government is willing to decree a night curfew for all of Spain or only for the communities that request it, as Madrid seems to intend.

But he considers that in order to approve it it is essential to use the legal instrument of the state of alarm, because it is about limiting a fundamental right such as leaving home at any time that one wants.

And that is why it demands that Madrid expressly request it and adds another condition: that the PP, the party that governs the community and that until now has opposed the state of alarm, undertakes to support this initiative and vote in favor in Congress in the event that an extension is necessary.

This has been made clear by both the president, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, as well as various sources consulted by the Executive.

Sánchez and Illa clearly showed that it is a measure that the Government does not see with a bad eye given the worsening of the data of the pandemic in Spain.

“The first thing to know is whether the Community of Madrid is officially asking us for a curfew or not.

If it is substantiated, there will be a debate in the inter-territorial council.

From there, any regional government will always have the full support of the Government of Spain, ”Sánchez declared.

Illa pointed out that other European countries are proposing this type of measures and the Executive has them under study.

However, the political discussion is opening now because the PP, which is defending the curfew for Madrid, insists on rejecting the state of alarm, and the Government will not take this measure if there is not an agreement with all the communities and therefore with the popular, according to Executive sources.

Illa has left the options very open and has pointed out that it is not something imminent, but under study.

The measure is very green, according to these sources, and an extraordinary Council of Ministers is not being considered on Friday to apply it this weekend, as happened with the state of alarm in Madrid two weeks ago whose validity ends this Saturday at 4:48 p.m. and that the Government has no intention of extending.

During the press conference after the Council of Ministers, Illa has made it very clear that the state of alarm would be essential to take such a harsh measure to restrict freedoms, and pointed out that it could not be done without the support of the PP.

The Government can decree a new state of alarm for 15 days for all of Spain or for some areas, but to extend it, it would need the vote of Congress.

That is why Illa asks the PP, which is proposing the measure - at least the PP in Madrid - to indicate whether it is willing to commit to voting for it in Congress if an extension is necessary, to avoid the parliamentary hell that was experienced in May.

“It is important to know if the PP would be willing to support this [the state of alarm for the curfew].

It is not decided.

It is under evaluation and study.

If it were taken, it would be very important to know the political position of the PP, ”said Illa, who has admitted that he has not yet spoken to the PP about the matter.

"I have the dialogue with the Health Councilors, I have not spoken with the PP," he said.

The minister has been especially concerned after the Council of Ministers - "very tough weeks are coming," he insisted - and for this reason he has asked for new support.

"If we go through here [the curfew] we need a state of alarm and I want to know who is willing to support me," he concluded.

“Regarding the possibility of a curfew, we have seen that it is applied in other European countries with similar accumulated incidents and in other cases even lower.

This measure requires a state of alarm and we are going to analyze it, with the Community of Madrid and with other communities that also have similar approaches in the interterritorial as a whole and of course if this measure is successful it must be with the certainty that it has the Necessary support in case this state had to be extended beyond 15 days, ”the minister detailed.

The initiative has emerged from Madrid, which has publicly raised this possibility on Tuesday although it has insisted that it can be done without a state of alarm.

It's not the only one.

Other communities have also suggested this proposal to the ministry and it is something that is on the table to analyze it in the Interterritorial Health Council that has been delayed to Thursday.

The problem is legal.

Madrid maintains that it does not want a state of alarm, but it does want a curfew;

and in the Executive they believe that this is not possible.

Yes, all citizens could be asked to stay at home during those hours, but a curfew as such, with the police guarding the streets with a strict order that no one move, is unfeasible without a state of alarm, according to sources from the Executive.

Several councilors have raised to the minister the usefulness of the curfew to control especially the bottles and illegal private parties in homes or university residences, which are becoming a major source of contagion among the younger population in recent weeks.

If a curfew is established that prohibits any movement, it is much easier for the police to control these illegal parties and much more risky to participate in them.

What is not clear yet is the time.

Madrid proposes from 00.00 to 6.00, but this detail has not yet been entered, according to the minister.

A state of alarm like this would require, as in March, much detail of how it is controlled and what essential movements are excluded from this curfew.

Illa has also confirmed that the Government will not seek an extension of the state of alarm in Madrid.

There are four days until it decays, on Saturday.

The central government and it is not yet known with certainty what the Executive of Isabel Díaz Ayuso will do to contain the second wave of the pandemic once this exceptional measure ends.

On the table Madrid has raised two ideas on Tuesday: return to the restrictions for basic health areas that the Community activated on September 21 and ask the Executive of Pedro Sánchez to establish a curfew.

Both proposals were verbalized this morning by the Minister of Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, at a breakfast with Europa Press.

Sources from the regional Executive specify the measure: they want it to be for the entire territory of the region, from 00:00 at night to 6:00 in the morning, to maintain the activity of bars and restaurants, but avoid drinking bottles and parties in homes.

“The curfew would make it possible to establish at certain times what we all know, that there is no mobility, as has been decreed in France, for example.

Yesterday [for this Monday] we had a meeting with the president [Isabel Díaz Ayuso] and the professional associations, and it came almost at their proposal to study that option.

But for that you have to have legal coverage that the Community of Madrid does not have, it would have to be a decision of the Government of Spain ”, said the counselor.

The Council of Ministers met on the eve of the debate on Vox's motion of censure and in full negotiation of the parties that make up the coalition government to finalize the General State Budgets.

The Minister Spokesperson, María Jesús Montero, has announced that the expansion of the coronavirus pandemic has forced a change in the format of the conference of territorial presidents scheduled for next Monday and will be held telematically in two days.

This event will be attended by Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.

The Government has approved the annual employment policy plan for 2020, with an amount of 5,793.7 million euros, of which 1,944.5 million have been distributed to the autonomous communities.

According to a statement sent by the Ministry of Labor, the text of the plan specifies the objectives that both Spain and each of the regions must achieve and adapts them to the context generated by the pandemic.

The plan has taken into account the 2020 National Reform Program, with the measures adopted to face the health, economic and social crises of the pandemic.

These include the benefit for workers affected by temporary employment regulation files (ERTE), the strengthening of protection against unemployment or the creation of extraordinary subsidies such as those for domestic workers.

It also incorporates measures for young people and long-term unemployed people.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-10-20

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