With twenty minutes’ notice, the Civil Guard summoned the media urgently yesterday for an institutional statement by the director general. At exactly 2:00 p.m., María Gámez, accompanied by the four generals who make up the top of the armed institute, announced – to everyone’s surprise – that she was resigning from her position after her husband was notified of the status of an investigation in a case of corruption A resignation that comes after weeks in which the name of the armed institute has been splashed by several cases of alleged corruption.
The interlocutory order by which the court of inquiry number 6 of Seville cites Juan Carlos Martínez as investigated is dated March 16. It is a piece of the ones that are still brewing from the macro-cause of the Andalusian EROs. But the notification arrived yesterday morning to Gámez’s husband. After that, the former director of the Civil Guard – who became the first woman to hold this position in January 2020 – called the Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska to inform him of her intention to giving up.
According to the minister’s closest circle, Gámez was one of his big bets when Pedro Sánchez’s second executive was formed: “He has always had a predilection for her during these three years.” Marlaska’s all-or-nothing proposal for Gámez cost the minister a disagreement with the head of Defence, Margarita Robles, since the position of director general of the Civil Guard must be agreed upon by the two ministries. Such was the level of tension that Robles did not even go to the act of taking possession of Gámez.
For this reason, his main defender fell yesterday in adulation towards the now resigned. His voice broke when he recalled the call in which Gámez had explained to him in the morning his resignation, which he described as “unjust, but necessary”, as an example of “the high standards of democratic prophylaxis” that he practices, as as he said, the Spanish Government. The head of the Interior was asked at a press conference yesterday if he would resign if a family member of his was charged – as was the case, as it was argued, of Gámez – without waiting for a final sentence. Marlaska avoided answering this question, despite the fact that he put Gámez’s case several times as an example of “democratic decency” that other parties “must learn”, with reference to the Popular Party, which he did not mention.
The former director of the Civil Guard described her resignation as “difficult”, but also as the “only possible” one to protect her family and the Civil Guard. “I am leaving satisfied with what has been achieved and proud to have done my bit so that the Civil Guard continues as one of the institutions most valued by citizens”, she said in her appearance in which she did not admit questions.
The Minister of the Interior, for his part, flatly denied that Gámez’s resignation has anything to do with the two corruption cases involving two retired generals: the Mediador case and the Casernes case. Of the second, which is under judicial investigation, he has reiterated his thesis that it was the Popular Party government that tried to stop the Internal Affairs investigations.
The head of the Interior also confirmed yesterday afternoon that it will be the Government delegate to the Community of Madrid, Mercedes González, who will be in charge of the Civil Guard. Her name was all over the place as the PSOE candidate for mayor of Madrid before Pedro Sánchez appointed the Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto.
