Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida threatens to go to court if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not vacate the historic Escuelas Aguirre building before the end of summer.
The future of the Casa Árabe in Madrid hangs by a thread. The city council, governed by José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has issued an ultimatum to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: either vacate the Escuelas Aguirre building before September or the conflict will end up in court. The cultural institution, which organises over 300 activities a year, may be forced to seek a new headquarters.
Clash between administrations over the Escuelas Aguirre building
The trigger for the dispute was the mayor's announcement at the end of June of his intention to reclaim the property, which is municipally owned. In that appearance, Almeida launched harsh criticisms against the former director of the Casa Árabe, Irene Lozano, whom he accused of leaving the institution bankrupt and allowing an "unacceptable" deterioration of the building. Lozano left the position a year and a half ago.
Since then, talks between the city council and Foreign Affairs have not progressed. Municipal sources claim that the city council "does not want to close or abandon Casa Árabe," but is seeking a change of location due to the poor condition of the current building. According to Almeida's team, Lozano's management caused "significant structural problems" and jeopardised the economic viability of the institution.
The former management's version: reforms that never came
However, sources from the former management of Casa Árabe provide a very different account. They explain that they repeatedly requested the city council to carry out structural reforms on the roof and the air conditioning system, but the council refused, claiming that "Madrid does not spend money fixing buildings it does not manage." The request for a meeting with the mayor was never addressed.
Regarding financial management, Lozano defended in January that the report from the Court of Auditors cited by the PP found "not a single flaw" in the accounts of Casa Árabe. Furthermore, she pointed out that the deficit criticised by both the city council and the Community of Madrid is due to the 80% budget cut imposed by Mariano Rajoy's government, which reduced the allocation from 10 million to less than two.
What will happen to Casa Árabe and its cultural programming
Casa Árabe is part of a network of diplomatic and cultural houses that also includes Casa América, Casa Asia, Casa África, Casa Mediterráneo, and the Sefarad Israel Centre. All of them are managed through consortia involving Foreign Affairs, autonomous communities, and city councils. The exit of the Community of Madrid from the Casa Árabe Consortium, announced six months ago, was already a first warning.
For the people of Madrid, the conflict could translate into the loss of an institution that organises exhibitions, conferences, courses, and events that bring Arab culture closer to the capital. If the eviction ultimately occurs, Casa Árabe will need to find a new space, although there is currently no alternative location.
The city council has not clarified what use it intends to give to the Escuelas Aguirre once Foreign Affairs vacates them. Meanwhile, time is running out: if there is no agreement in the coming weeks, the case will go to court and the continuity of Casa Árabe in Madrid will remain uncertain.
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