The Madrid City Council has issued an eviction order for Casa Árabe from the Escuelas Aguirre building, located at the intersection of Alcalá and O’Donnell streets. The deadline for vacating the main headquarters, which it has occupied since March 2008, is next September 1st. Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida announced the decision following a meeting of the Extraordinary Governing Council of the Casa Árabe Consortium.
The reclamation of the property follows the withdrawal of the Community of Madrid from the Casa Árabe Consortium, announced in January and ratified today. According to the April 2008 cession decree, any alteration in the consortium's composition empowers the City Council to exercise the right to reclaim the building without compensation.
Martínez-Almeida justified the decision based on the management of the former director, Irene Lozano, whom he described as "lamentable" and a "chiringuito" (a colloquial term for an irregular or fraudulent operation), citing reports from the Court of Auditors regarding accounting responsibility. The mayor also mentioned "significant structural problems" with the building and criticized the lack of involvement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
The City Council will undertake urgent recovery and consolidation works on the building to return it to public use. While the council has expressed willingness to cooperate for Casa Árabe to find another location, it does not intend to provide them with another municipal building. The mayor suggests that Escuelas Aguirre could serve a "perfectly cultural" purpose for the enjoyment of Madrid's residents.
