Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso has accused protesters in support of public education of having financial motives. At a campaign event in Móstoles she said on 15 November that some people went from one demonstration to the next to receive grants. Several dozen people had gathered outside the venue, including teachers demonstrating for better conditions in public education.
According to a report by the news agency Europa Press, Ayuso criticised people who put on a green T-shirt for one occasion, swapped it for a work coat and then put the green T-shirt back on. She claimed that some went from one banner to another to get grants. She said she did not want this kind of behaviour for children’s education in the Region Madrid , the regional president said. The report cited no specific evidence for the allegation of financial motives.
Outside the Teatro del Bosque, participants wore green T-shirts as a symbol of public education; yellow T-shirts highlighted the concerns of early childhood centres. One placard called on the region’s education minister, Mercedes Zarzalejo, to negotiate. Another called for Bautista to resign. Signs also displayed the number 7291, which, according to the agency’s report, referred to deaths in care homes during the pandemic.
The protests come amid an indefinite strike in the education sector in the Madrid region that began on 14 October. Staff are calling, among other things, for more investment and smaller class sizes. A school counsellor told the television channel laSexta in Móstoles that the regional government and the education minister did not want to listen to staff or negotiate better conditions for pupils and families. She also complained of heavy bureaucratic workloads and a lack of materials for children with disabilities.
On 11 November, the regional government announced that it would extend the minimum service required during the strike. It said this was to protect teaching and preparation for entry to higher education. Staff representatives criticised the fact that, at a subsequent meeting with the Ministry of Education , they had not received adequate explanations for the changes, according to laSexta. Zarzalejo did not attend the meeting.
Ayuso also said in Móstoles that she did not want to be lectured by people who ran organisations or worked in institutions. The agency’s report does not say whom she meant specifically.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).