I know I’ll cry”, assumes Reyes Maroto (Medina del Campo, 1973) before going to Seville to embrace Abengoa’s workers and certify the survival of this industry, one of the projects he saved, together with that of Nissan in Barcelona or that of Siro in Castile and Leon, in the almost five years that she was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. Despite her management experience, she now still faces the most difficult as a socialist candidate for mayor of Madrid – a city where she arrived at the age of 22 – in the May 28 elections. His recipe: humility, closeness, empathy and capacity for dialogue and agreement. He knows it’s not easy, but he says: “I want to win and govern”.
Why does Madrid need a mayor, or in this case a socialist mayor?
Because Madrid needs a change and now has no city project, it stopped for more than 30 years, since two good socialists, Tierno Galván and Juan Barranco, left a legacy that many Madridites still remember. It’s a legacy, but I’m coming to renew Madrid. With a policy close to the citizen, useful and to project all the strengths that Madrid has.
The socialists have not governed the capital since the times of Tierno and Barranco, already the barbarity of 34 years ago. Because it is a conservative city or because the PSOE did not know how to press the right button?
Perhaps the PSOE needed to have an exciting project again. And this is what I bring: excitement. I come with the desire to win Madrid to look for solutions where there are problems.
When the left finally regained the mayorship, in 2015, it was not from the PSOE, but from Manuela Carmena.
Carmena managed to bring back the much-needed change, which was very much inspired by the 15-M. But it was not enough. Madrid is very complex, with many public management problems. What was missing from that government that brought about the change were facts. There was more desire than results. I propose a renewed social-democratic project, in which everything that is longed for from the left is done.
He assumed this candidacy after the PSOE suffered its worst record in 2019: it was fourth with 13.7% of the vote. Are you the shocker that the PSOE needs to revive Madrid?
Sometimes people change facts. One of them is the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who knew how to understand the changes Spain needed and adapt the party to that transformation. I am inspired by this desire for change. To win Madrid you have to want to win, and I want to win and to govern. We have a project that empathizes with many of the problems that the city has and that the PP did not know how to solve. The last four years, Madrid has not changed at all, we continue with the same problems. I propose to move from words to deeds.
He reports that José Luis MartÃnez-Almeida is a mayor and candidate for re-election intervened by Isabel DÃaz Ayuso.
The president of the PP of the Community of Madrid imposed the list and the candidates, because she wants to surround herself with trustworthy people. Almeida continues as a candidate and brings profiles that contribute little to the city, which needs good managers, with experience and innovative projects. We present Madrid Pròxim, the most ambitious urban transformation project of the last 30 years.
Which Madrid do you dream of?
I dream of a Madrid where territorial and social imbalances are eliminated, which can only be seen when we go from the Usera district to the Salamanca district. Good rebalancing policies have not been made so that we all have the same rights and services regardless of the zip code where we live. And my aspiration is to position Madrid in the international sphere, so that it is recognized in the world not only for being an icon, but for its quality of life linked to the environment.
The PSOE encourages electoral expectations when it points out that Madrid is only a handful of votes away. But the divisions on the left hinder his options to govern. Will they be able to understand each other?
Yes, I have a capacity for negotiation and dialogue that is sometimes said to be exaggerated. But politics must be based on dialogue and agreement. We have already shown it to the Government. We can understand each other, the people of Madrid can trust that the leftists, if we have to reach an agreement to govern, we are obliged to do so. We cannot let down voters who trust progressive forces. But I will not be the mayoress only of those who vote for me, I aspire to be the mayoress of all the people of Madrid.
If he succeeds, he proposes big city pacts.
As mayoress, I will not only make an agreement with the progressive forces to be able to govern, if the people of Madrid trust me, but with all the forces of the City Council, so that the people of Madrid trust politics again and we have great city pacts.
Highlights the figure and management of Pedro Sánchez. But is it a political asset in terms of the municipal elections in Madrid?
My campaign is called Reyes de Madrid, because it is based on putting a face on the people of Madrid. The protagonists are not the president or the ministers, not even my party, but the people of Madrid. They deserve that the parties attend to their needs, with citizen participation to inspire citizens and neighborhoods.
Should we promote a connection between Madrid and Barcelona that overcomes their rivalries and historical misunderstandings?
One of my priorities, if I become mayor, is to reconnect the two cities. I have already spoken about it with the PSC candidate for the mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni. There must be an agenda of mutual collaboration between Madrid and Barcelona, ​​because in this way not only will the neighbors of the two cities win, but Spain will win. We are the two economic poles and the big cities that can project good urban practices to the world. We have lost many years of permanent confrontation.
If he doesn’t get the mayorship, will he continue four years in the opposition?
Without a doubt, and more. My project is to improve the lives of the people of Madrid, and I will do it in government or in the opposition. I’m coming to stay, Reyes will be there for a while.
