Spain's transport minister calls Madrid president a 'mamarracha' as wildfire political row escalates

Exchange of insults

On Friday, Transport Minister Óscar Puente launched a series of attacks on regional PP governments, particularly the Madrid administration of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, as wildfires burned across central Spain. In a post on X, Puente wrote that the Military Emergency Unit (UME) had become “the new firefighting service” for regions governed by the PP, arguing they “cut taxes on the rich, shrink public services and then ask the government to solve the problem.”

Ayuso responded by stating that coordination between administrations was “good” and called for an end to “stupidity.” She said she “completely ignores” Puente’s remarks and wanted to focus on saving lives. Puente replied directly to her: “You know a lot about heating up the atmosphere. That’s what you live off. Now you ask for help from a government you spend your life insulting. If there is a mamarracha in Spain, it’s you.”

The UME is now the new firefighting service of the autonomous communities governed by the PP. They cut taxes on the rich, shrink public services and then ask the government to solve the problem.

PP calls for truce

The PP’s national leadership rebuked Puente. Vicesecretary Alma Ezcurra described his comments as “miserable” and urged all sides to “leave political rivalry aside” while people were suffering. “They see sides and walls where we only see fire,” Ezcurra said from the party’s Madrid headquarters. She called for “loyal cooperation between administrations” and the use of all available resources, including European aid if necessary.

Both the delegate’s and especially minister Puente’s behaviour seem miserable. There are people going through a very bad time. We must put political rivalry aside and solve the problem.

Timeline of the clash

The confrontation followed the declaration of a national emergency for the fires late on Thursday 23 July, after the Madrid regional government had requested that the operational level be raised to level 3. Puente’s initial broadside on Friday morning ignited a day of escalating rhetoric, with Ayuso’s midday remarks and Ezcurra’s afternoon condemnation. In the early hours of Saturday, Puente added another layer to the dispute, targeting Madrid’s announcement that it would review possible legal action against firefighters who may have compromised operations.

Firefighters under legal scrutiny

In a separate development late Friday, the Madrid regional government said it would examine “all administrative and legal avenues” against a group of firefighters whose actions could have “compromised the operation of the devices” fighting the fires. Puente seized on that, tweeting: “They are relentless. They will end up persecuting the firefighters themselves. There are reasons to be very afraid of these people.” His message underlined the increasingly personal and institutional nature of the dispute.

They are relentless. They will end up persecuting the firefighters themselves. There are reasons to be very afraid of these people.

Firefighting backdrop

The UME has been deployed to help battle blazes in Madrid, Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha. Puente framed the request for military assistance as a consequence of PP regional policies, claiming the party signs government pacts that “deny climate change” and reduce prevention and extinction services “to a minimum.” He insisted that the moment to raise these issues is “now, when the hillside burns,” not after the crisis when “in December nobody remembers anything.”