“"Unlike the Spanish Government's model, which seeks to dignify the lives of those already here, those who have come to contribute and build, your classist model has chosen to exploit the thousands of people we already live with to roll out a red carpet for billionaires from abroad and sell them Madrid in parcels."
Tension in Madrid Assembly Over Migrant Regularization
The debate on migrant regularization sparks a fierce confrontation between Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Mar Espinar, and Manuela Bergerot.
By Patricia Gómez Navarro
••3 min read
IA
Generic image of a microphone on a podium in an assembly hall, symbolizing political debate.
The Madrid Assembly witnessed a tense debate on migrant regularization, leading to a heated exchange of accusations between regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso and opposition spokespersons Mar Espinar (PSOE) and Manuela Bergerot (Más Madrid).
During the session, socialist spokesperson Mar Espinar sharply criticized Ayuso's proposed migration model, labeling it «classist and racist». Espinar urged the president to embrace human rights, accusing her of wanting immigrants to «clean» her penthouses «with a cap» but «without rights», and of sharing Vox's «cruelty».
Espinar also attacked the president, stating that her only «homeland» is «greed» and advocating for immigrants to have «the same rights and obligations». The socialist condemned Ayuso's stance of denying them the opportunity to «live without fear» and of «collapsing the services» they rely on to prove their roots. She even made a reference to Catholic faith, suggesting that Jesus would be more in favor of regularizations than processions.
For her part, Isabel Díaz Ayuso accused the Spanish Government of pursuing mass regularization to «move electoral censuses» and because the current system «no longer suits them». The regional president suggested that the PSOE is indifferent to migrants, questioning the treatment of Sahrawis and the lack of information on how many people will be affected by the measure. She defended that Madrid focuses on employment, while the central Government seeks «precariousness and poverty».
From Más Madrid, spokesperson Manuela Bergerot called Ayuso a «bad person» for wanting to appeal the regularization. Bergerot asserted that the «dangerous minority are the rich» and that the problems in Madrid are caused by «speculators» and «those who live off rents». She even called for the «deportation of the rich», mentioning the CEO of Quirón, vulture funds, and Ibex executives, whom she accused of «breaking our coexistence».
The debate also included a confrontation between Ayuso and Vox. The president accused Vox of treating immigrants «like scum» in every plenary session, «sowing unease and guilt». Ayuso defended the importance of «law and order» and the need for organization to know «who is coming, from where, what problems they bring, how they can integrate or not». In response to criticism from Isabel Pérez Moñino (Vox) regarding healthcare for migrants, Ayuso stressed that denying assistance can lead to serious illnesses.
Finally, Ayuso reiterated that Madrid «welcomes all accents» and highlighted the figure of the Nobel laureate «Madrid native from Peru» Mario Vargas Llosa, who «has contributed much more to literature and culture than any of the members» of Vox, as well as the Hispanics who consider Spain their home.



