The batons clattered harshly on the ground and then fell to the ground this afternoon in front of the Madrid Post Office, headquarters of the regional government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP), while the voices of the ‘yayoflautas’ cried out once again for the dead in nursing homes in Madrid during COVID without being transferred to hospitals. “7,291,” those gathered, around fifty, shouted rhythmically, between blows and blows, in reference to the inmates who died between March and April 2020.
The ‘yayoflautas’ were born as a group of older people in the heat of the 15M mobilizations and continue today to gather fortnightly in Sol to support burning social demands, such as those of education or health. Among the crowds of tourists and consumers on autumn afternoons, they are recognized by their yellow vests. “It is about paying tribute to the victims and their families for the abandonment of the Government of the Community of Madrid,” explained Pilar González Cid, a veteran of the mobilizations and unofficial spokesperson, who explained the symbolism of throwing the batons to the ground: “ Those who left are no longer needed.”
The event was accompanied by representatives of associations that fight to avoid oblivion and impunity for what happened in the darkest months of 2020. Esther Fernández, from the Truth and Justice association, read a statement that includes the group’s five main demands. : recognition of what happened; transparency to know the extremes of abandonment suffered by the elderly inmates; justice for victims; responsibility to prevent the tragedy from being repeated and commitment to the future to guarantee the quality of care for the elderly and the working conditions of the professionals who care for them. “We must move forward building a better future, let us learn from this tragedy the importance of caring for and valuing the most vulnerable, giving them respect and dignity,” he claimed.
“They did it on purpose”
Carmen López, from Marea de Residencias, also briefly intervened, pointing to the headquarters of the regional government. “This cannot go unpunished. It has been the greatest violation of rights in the entire history of our democracy and we cannot allow it to be repeated. If not, when there is a pandemic again tomorrow it will happen again because no errors have been assumed, because there have been no political responsibilities.” Specifically about Ayuso, he reproached: “That lady who ‘lives’ there (even though she lives in an attic) remains unpunished and continues to win elections. We must fight to make it known; “They did it on purpose,” he warned.
The group initially met under the replica of the Mariblanca statue and after reading the statement they went around the square, avoiding pedestrians more concerned about recording with their phones the lighting of the Christmas tree arranged these days in the square than about getting information. about the vicissitudes of the pandemic in Madrid. The police present in the square made no move to hinder the protest. After a pause under the illuminated tree, the participants finally stopped in front of the Post Office, where they threw the batons before breaking up the event, under the flashes of some journalists and a few tourists. One of them, in a tracksuit and sports coat, was interested in the reason for the protest. One of the older women explained it to him, but the man was skeptical, repeating one of the mantras with which the PP usually clears up responsibilities: “There were no doctors for anyone.” His interlocutor preferred not to insist and returned to his companions.
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