Más Madrid Sanse denounces that the San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council will allocate €559,625 to eight musical performances for the Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo de los Remedios, a figure similar to the total of the school meal and school material grants for the entire year.
The San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council will spend €559,625 on eight concerts for the upcoming patron saint festivities, according to the contracting files approved by the municipal government. The amount, denounced by Más Madrid Sanse, is almost equal to the combined budget for annual school material grants (€200,000) and meal scholarships (€400,000).
Spending that increases each year
The local political party has pointed out that the budget for festivities continues to rise during the term of the Popular Party. In addition to the performances for the patron saint festivities, there are also the bull runs in January and extraordinary Christmas concerts, which consolidates an upward trend.
"Of course we want good festivities. They are part of the identity of our city and of the coexistence among neighbours. The problem is not the festivities; the problem is the priorities of the municipal government. Governing means choosing priorities," stated the spokesperson for Más Madrid Sanse, Ángela Millán.
The comparison between budget items is the focus of the criticism. While the eight musical performances take €559,625 in one week, direct aid to families for school material and meals totals €600,000 for the entire year. "The hiring of the eight musical performances, therefore, represents almost the same amount as the total of both lines of aid aimed at thousands of families in San Sebastián de los Reyes," the party's statement reads.
Priorities of the municipal government
Más Madrid Sanse insists that the debate is not whether the municipality should celebrate good festivities, but what the real priorities of Lucía Fernández's government are. The party recalls that in recent months it has promoted an institutional declaration to advance in the climate control of educational centres, has denounced the problems of the Sanse Concilia programme, and continues to demand measures against the serious housing access problem.
"When in just one week of concerts, almost the same amount is spent as the City Council allocates for an entire year to meal and school material scholarships, the comparison speaks for itself. We do not dispute that Sanse should have good festivities; we question whether this distribution of priorities truly responds to the needs of our neighbours," Millán pointed out.
For the party, the increase in spending on festivities reflects a governing style that prioritises political visibility over investments that improve the daily lives of citizens. They consider it particularly significant that this increase occurs in the last year of the mandate, when investments in actions with greater media impact intensify.
Reactions and local context
The complaint from Más Madrid Sanse comes at a time when many local residents are suffering the consequences of the lack of climate control in public schools, long waiting lists for reconciliation programmes, and difficulties in finding affordable housing. The party has reiterated the need to strengthen investment in the maintenance of neighbourhoods and in public services that affect daily life.
"Festivities are an important part of San Sebastián de los Reyes and we want them to continue to be so. But a good City Council is measured by the decisions it makes every day to improve the lives of its residents. When spending on eight concerts approaches the entire annual effort allocated to meal and school material scholarships, it is legitimate to ask whether the PP government has lost its sense of priorities," concluded Millán.
So far, the City Council has not commented on the criticisms, but the concerts have already been contracted and the Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo de los Remedios will be held as planned. Residents who wish to know the complete programme can consult it on the municipal website, where they will also find the deadlines for applying for school aid for the next academic year.
