The military parade on October 12 in Madrid has had heavy rains as the protagonists of a day in which the distance between the public and the tribune has prevented the boos of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, from being heard in the designated area to the authorities where the flag has been raised. The weather has even caused Felipe VI and the Princess of Asturias to momentarily leave their seats during part of the parade attended by the Government with some absences, including that of Minister Sira Rego in a decision made jointly with Izquierda Unida. .
Shortly before nine in the morning, several hundred people gathered in the vicinity of Cibeles carrying flags and, whoever did not carry them, buying them from the street vendors waiting at the doors of the Banco de España metro. The occasional shouts of “Viva España!” They were overshadowed by the morning’s topic of conversation: the rains that broke out less than an hour later.
The authorities’ tribune was located in the Plaza de Neptuno, a few meters from the Congress of Deputies and a considerable distance from the public. Around ten thirty in the morning the regional presidents appeared and, with them, the socialist Salvador Illa: the first president of the Generalitat of Catalonia to attend this event in the last 14 years. In the chapter of absences, several members of the Government have not attended the parade, such as the Minister of Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera, the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero – who is injured – and the head of Equality, Ana Redondo. The Minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego, has not attended after deciding “together with the organization, Izquierda Unida”, her team has stated, according to Andrea García.
Shortly before ten thirty in the morning, the Defense department was already pointing out the cancellation of any element of the parade related to the air: neither the fighters nor the helicopters nor the Águila Patrol would leave. Since early in the morning, the experts had set the 4,000 meter cloud height as their red line, but the rains have settled the debate and it has not been possible to launch the parachutist either.
The key moments of the military events on October 12 have coincided with the heaviest stretches of rain in the center of Madrid: the arrival of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, a few moments before arriving at the Royal House, and at the time of the raising of the flag, in which the members of the Armed Forces who died during this year have also been remembered.
The rain has also restricted the ability of political representatives to make statements, just as the shouts and whistles upon the arrival of the President of the Government have barely been intuited in the distance. The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez-Feijóohas limited himself to a generic congratulation on his account on the social network
In this same social network, Podemos has stated that October 12 “is not a reason for pride” because it “commemorates” a “genocide” and requests that this day of the National Holiday be celebrated on 15M, in memory of May 15 2011, date on which a movement of ‘indignants’ filled the squares of dozens of Spanish cities shouting ‘They don’t represent us’.
At the regional level, the pats on the back by Emiliano García-Page to Salvador Illa before starting the parade have also marked a smooth presence for the regional presidents, with some of them, such as Fernando López Miras, presenting themselves before the flag before taking their seats. seat in the gallery. Isabel Perelló also attended her first October 12 as president of the governing body of the judges in the main gallery.
With a more institutional profile than usual, the Madrid president Isabel Díaz Ayuso also appeared. “Since I have been president of the Community I have never had rain, but I am happy because in the end it is also good for the countryside and for everything, so it doesn’t matter if you have a little umbrella and enjoy it,” she indicated.
The parade experienced a moment of uncertainty when the rain became especially violent and the kings even got up from their seats in the main stand before the infantry units began their march announced by a public address system barely audible due to the noise. of the rain and the fountain of Neptune. The Killo ram of the Legion and the 210 cavalry soldiers who have paraded through one of the main arteries of the capital on one of the rainiest days that those present remembered for October 12.
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