The management of a space has unleashed an open war between members of a group of neighbors and merchants from the Doña Carlota Market, the heart of the Numancia neighborhood in the Puente de Vallecas district. The Doña Carlota-Numancia Neighborhood Association has regretted on social networks the end of its social activity in one of the stands on the premises, after five years in which they have developed different social initiatives.
Javier Moral, president of the neighborhood organization, explains to Somos Madrid how they came to the space: “In 2017 it was proposed to revitalize the Market and for this a group of volunteers was created who, among other things, took care of a kind of popular library created thanks to private donations. Two years later, they told us that if we wanted to use the market stall where they had that library [La Bibliocarloteca]. We met, kept documentation and gave that address as a neighborhood association.”
The arrival of covid-19 meant that most of the volunteers who collaborated before the neighborhood organization arrived left, because they were mostly elderly women. The association then took charge, both of the library and of other social actions: “As the pandemic was very annoying, we dedicated ourselves to distributing food there, since many families could not go and pick it up and it was thrown away. We combined it with our meetings, workshops and reading clubs. Also with a little school that was first to serve children of members of the PAH [Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca] during his activities, although later he opened up to any kid,” says Javier.
But in recent months the relationship with the merchants at the Doña Carlota Market became strained: “There were people who agreed with our presence and others who agreed. In the end they rented the space, where a toy store has opened, and they kicked us out in a bad way. Then, when negotiating, they offered us an alternative. The problem is that it was only for the library, in a tiny, ruined position and for two years, with the threat of expelling us again later.”
Rafael Cortés, administrator of the Market, provides his version of the events in conversation with this newspaper: “In effect there was a collaborative library, in which the association collaborated for its maintenance. It was operational while the store was being marketed, because in the end this is a market. An opportunity arose for a new store and I needed the premises relatively quickly. The agreement was only verbal. If there is no contract signed with the neighborhood organization, there is nothing to do.”
Cortés also clarifies that the book lending and deposit system is still operational, although it is not in the traditional model, but in the one that is common in other municipal markets or in the Metro network: “We have moved the library to the benches of a fruit shop, with another smaller format. With the association there was one more library in use, now the idea is that anyone who wants can leave or take out a copy.”
Beyond the complaints about the merchants, Javier criticizes the Government of José Luis Martínez-Almeida for not working on granting an alternative venue to the neighborhood entity: “Regarding the expulsion, they tell us that this is a matter for the Market, that it managed through a management company. But if they lent us a space and covered the rent through an in-kind subsidy, which would also help the Market, it would be positive for everyone. The Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Madrid told me that it was a very good idea, and they are doing everything possible to see if they reinstate us in that or another market in the neighborhood. But I doubt it, we have ended badly with the Federation of Municipal Markets of Madrid.”
The City Council encourages the association to apply for municipal subsidies
Sources from the Madrid City Council explain to this newspaper the Council’s position and why it does not offer an alternative venue: “The association had a verbal agreement with the market merchants, managers of the space under an administrative concession regime, who have marketed the space and They have been given time to abandon it. The District Board does not have spaces for its possible transfer and, even if it were, it would be done on a competitive basis. The Puente de Vallecas Board has reminded the association of the possibility of applying for municipal subsidies that can help defray the expenses of a headquarters.”
In the midst of cross complaints, the situation of the Doña Carlota-Numancia Neighborhood Association is compromised according to its president: “Being an itinerant organization limits us greatly socially and economically. We do not have a meeting space or a headquarters, and therefore neither a postal address at which to receive notifications from the Treasury, the Community of Madrid or any correspondence. Some association has offered to give us a place for specific meetings, but it is not useful for us in the long term. We made a little space for ourselves very little by little and now in one fell swoop it’s over. The City Council believes that we make money with what we do and the opposite is true, we lose it. That’s why we need you to help us.”
For Javier, the biggest victims, beyond the 40 members of the association, are the users of the popular library and the young people who went to school in the afternoons: “It bothers me about the kids, who need extracurricular support. It’s what makes me most sad, because in the end we can look for any place to meet, even if it’s juggling.”
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