Madrid

Tuk tuks have become the symbol of the excesses of tourism in Madrid. There are those who are already asking to ban them

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If the City Hall data are correct, last year Madrid received a little more 11 million of tourists. A very intense flow of visitors left billions of euros in the capital, also giving wings to an industry that is looking for new ways to expand. His mark has been visible for a long time in the real estate sector through vacation rentals, but it is increasingly also visible on the street thanks to a figure who has been gaining prominence: tuk tuks. Their fleet has expanded so much, so quickly and so uncontrollably that they have slipped into the center of the municipal debate. And there is already someone wants to ban them. What has happened? Tourism is a huge economic engine. Madrid knows this well, estimating that last year foreign visitors left close to 17.9 billion euros11% more than in 2024. This enormous flow of income irrigates accommodation, hospitality, commerce and transportation, but also encourages new businesses, such as tours aboard tuk tuks. In Spain they are relatively common. They began to become popular around 2016. In a matter of a decade, however, their number has skyrocketed exponentially. In 2023 there was talk of around 50 vehiclesthe SER assures that they are already a hundred and just a year ago the Madrid City Council revealed that he was aware of at least six companies with tuk tuks. What’s more, in 2024 mobility agents reported “901 vehicles.” The problem is not only its accelerated increase, it is also the impact that they have in the city. What impact do they have? In words According to the Consistory, the increase in these light three-wheeled vehicles (with motor or pedal) causes “increasing congestion problems” in certain areas of the center frequented by tourists. The reason? The City Council talks about its accumulation in hot spots where they hope to attract customers, such as the San Miguel Market or the Royal Palace, sometimes ignoring the signs installed precisely to keep them away. The result is an increase in complaints from neighbors, merchants, tour guides and taxi drivers, who have already demanded a solution to what consider a clear case of “intrusion and unfair competition.” You don’t have to search the media to find them. There are those who have made evident their discomfort on the networks. Why’s that? “The accumulation of what are known as tuk tuks at certain points generates traffic problems, but also congestion at different stops that have been improvised as parking spaces for collecting tourists,” the City Council acknowledged a year ago, coinciding with the start of a surveillance campaign precisely to prevent irregular parking. The SER assures that in one week they imposed 148 sanctions. Click on the image to go to the tweet. What to do then? Improve local regulations. That is what at least the City Council has proposed, which in January acknowledged that it was working on a regulation that would allow the tuk tuk challenge to be faced more clearly. The advertisement he did it during Fitur the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who also launched a notice to navigators: as long as the City Council does not adopt a new rule, urban mobility agents will continue to sanction. “We will continue to pursue a phenomenon that harms not only the image of the city, but also its own functioning. I don’t think it does any good for tourism either when things are not done properly,” insisted. This is not the first time that the local government has spoken out on the issue. Nor does it speak of a new regulation. In the past the Almeida team has already warned that tuk tuks must circulate respecting the regulations, which means stopping parking at points such as the Royal Palace or the San Miguel market. Debate settled? Not at all. Proof that the controversy is still alive in Madrid is that these days it has been revived again with proposals (and reproaches) crossed between the municipal government and the opposition. The reason? Which institution has the power to solve the problem. Madrid Current inform that the head of the Mobility area, Borja Carabante, has demanded that the central government modify the General Traffic Regulations to solve the problem. The PSOE however insist in that it must be the Consistory that acts via ordinance. What do they propose? The socialists have presented an amendment to the new Sustainable Mobility Ordinance, raising arguments to veto this type of vehicle on the streets, including the use they make of sidewalks and other pedestrian areas or the competition they exercise over other transportation services that are regulated and are required to meet requirements. Its approach goes beyond that maintained by the Council, which works to “regulate and order”. Although in other countries they have been circulating for years and also operate in more localities from Spaintuk tuks are situated in a complicated regulatory framework, such as recognized last year the Tourism area of ​​the Madrid City Council to The Spanish. He approach The starting point is simple: tuk tuks can circulate through the city, but they cannot bypass the bullfighting regulations and, therefore, occupy spaces where they now usually park to hunt tourists. Images | Madrid City Council and Caesar (Flickr) In Xataka | In its accelerated touristification, Madrid began to convert commercial premises into paid bathrooms. It turned out as expected

The metro has been splitting Rivas in two for decades. The city council has a plan to cover it up and has already presented it to Madrid

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The Rivas Vaciamadrid City Council has registered before the General Directorate of Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid its project to cover 2.5 kilometers of Metro Line 9B. This is a project that aims to transform part of the town’s urban layout, and the deadline for issuing its technical report has already opened. We tell you all the details. What exactly is this about? Just like they count From the town hall itself, the project consists of burying or covering the section of road that runs above ground through Rivas Vaciamadrid between the Cerro del Telégrafo Sports Center and the Rivas Futura station. They are 2.5 kilometers long and 30 meters wide which, if covered, would stop acting as a physical barrier that divides the municipality in two. On the surface, it is planned to extend the Linear Park, creating a corridor with green spaces for public use. The project also includes the construction of a fourth Metro station in Rivas, located on José Saramago street. Deadlines. The City Council had a technical meeting on February 27 with the General Directorate of Infrastructure, where it presented the solution. A week later, on March 4, it was officially registered, and now the Community of Madrid has three months to decide whether to move forward at a technical level. According to collect El Diario, the council has expressly requested “agility” from the regional administration. Tpolitical background. The fourth season brings them. And it is that according to Diario de Rivas, the Community of Madrid has already pointed out on more than one occasion that this infrastructure “is not justified on a technical level.” The City Council, for its part, insists that the project “is the result of months of rigorous and reliable technical work and that it meets the necessary requirements to move forward towards its execution.” The General Directorate of Infrastructure, for now, has limited itself to confirming that there was a meeting. What the data say. The City Council supports its position to move forward with the project through a survey in which they say that 78% of Rivas residents recognize the importance of this project. The organization frames it within its Rivas 2030 Urban Agenda, where it appears as one of its most notable projects to reconfigure its urban model. What happens now? The ball is in the court of the Community of Madrid. Before the end of June, the technical response from the General Directorate of Infrastructure should arrive. This report will determine if the project can move forward as planned, if it needs modifications or if the proposal (especially the new station) encounters obstacles from the regional administration. The Town Hall has expressed his confidence that the Community “facilitates the progress of an action long awaited by the citizens of Rivas”, but it seems that we will have to wait to find out if it finally materializes as the city council wants. Cover image | Google Maps In Xataka | BYD is already studying entering Formula 1, according to Bloomberg. And it is not a whim, it is a necessary step

Madrid stew. An American team manages to grow chickpeas in lunar regolith

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A team from the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M has achieved that a handful of chickpea plants complete their life cycle in a substrate that imitates the lunar regolith. That is to say, (for the first time) it has been possible for a legume of direct nutritional interest to germinate, develop flowers and produce seeds in a medium of this type. But, let’s go for twists. Grow chickpeas on the Moon!? Although that is the most striking headline, the truth is that it is not exactly that what researchers have shown. We have been trying to find ways to grow crops in the lunar regolith for years and, in fact, the tests that were done in 2022 on real samples were a failure. For this reason, the team has focused on demonstrating that a sterile substrate could be transformed into something similar to arable soil by exploring the symbiosis between the plant in question and a fungus. That is, the crucial thing is that they have managed to ‘bioremediate’ the pulverized rock. And what did they do? The researchers got together chickpeas with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi drastically improve the absorption of water and nutrients, increase resistance to stress and function for practical purposes as natural biofertilizers. The chickpeas in question flowered and produced seeds in soil containing up to 75% simulated regolith. In the soil composed of 100% simulated regolith they couldn’t get them to give seedsbut the step forward is incredible. Above all, because we have gone from a proof of concept in which lPlants could survive with a lot of stress to one where they can generate crops. The choice of plant is also interesting. Typically, space agricultural research has focused on short-cycle leafy vegetables and, indeed, lettuces. have been cultivated on the ISS for a long time. The problem, as researchers say, is that these vegetables serve to complement the diet, but do not contribute much nutritionally. Chickpeas (with their 15 grams of protein per cup and almost all essential amino acids) are something else. However, the question is important: does it make sense to plant on the Moon? And the answer, as Raúl Herranz of the CSIC points outit’s just not right now. If you need 25% of the necessary soil, mushrooms and some worms… it is probably more efficient to carry the chickpeas packaged. Luckily, this is only the beginning of the journey and there is still a long way to go before the final turnaround. The good news is that we are getting closer. Image | Salvatore G2 – POT In Xataka | A study has tried to find out why space food is so bad: it’s not the food, it’s the astronauts

Portugal had to choose where to take its AVE first. And between Madrid and Galicia, it is very clear

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It was October 2025 when the news broke. Then we learned that Madrid and Lisbon would be linked by a high-speed train in 2034. The objective set by Spain, Portugal and the European Commission is that both capitals are connected by a train that covers the journey in about three hours of travel. The first step to recover that connection is to have a line ready in 2030 with conventional trains that reopen traffic between both cities without having to change trains. The project rescues a line that It already existed in the 19th century but that time has erased. Furthermore, it follows the designs of a European Union that opts for the train over the plane and is that being able to cover this journey in 180 minutes would be a blow against air traffic, which is much more polluting. If the schedule is met, the AVE between both cities will be available almost three decades later than planned. The news, furthermore, seemed to indicate that Galicia was being relegated to the background. And the region has been fighting alongside Portugal for years to have a high-speed rail connection that structures the Atlantic axis. We now know that Portugal will prioritize Galicia over Madrid. First Galicia, then Madrid The confirmation came from the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, during the XXXVI Spanish-Portuguese Summit held in La Rábida (Huelva) who has indicated that he trusts that the Lisbon-Oporto-Vigo line will be completed in 2033 and, therefore, the deadlines prior to the agreement are met with Europe and Spain on Madrid-Lisbon. The words were collected in The Newspaper and it is confirmation that between Madrid and Galicia, The first place Portugal looks to is Galicia. The latest agreements to carry out trains between both cities seemed to put this connection between the Galician city and the two large Portuguese cities at risk. It must be taken into account that the first objective was for Madrid and Lisbon to already have a high-speed connection ready by 2030, the year in which Spain and Portugal (along with Morocco) will organize the Soccer World Cup. However, given the impossibility of meeting the deadlines, a delay until 2034 was agreed upon. This delay has not put at risk the Atlantic corridor in which The European Union has already invested 250 million euros (more than 750 million euros of European funds have already been spent on Madrid-Lisbon) and up to 3,000 million euros delivered by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the form of soft loans. In Portugal they defend that the connection between their cities and the north of Spain is much more important than the link with Madrid. The high-speed project between Lisbon, Porto and Vigo had already consumed 11,000 million euros as of 2023 and, in the words of Carlos Fernandes, vice president of Infrastructure in Portugal, collected by The reason “develops our country and the centrality of our cities, and not the centrality of other Iberian cities (in relation to Madrid).” For the project to go ahead, it is necessary for Portugal to comply with the plans but also for Spain to have a high-speed exit between Vigo and Tui. From the Portuguese side, they have never denied that they prefer to prioritize the corridor towards Galicia. Pedro Nuno Santos, then Minister of Infrastructure, criticized Renfe in 2022 in an interview with The Countryensuring that they had maintained the night train between Vigo and Portugal but that on the Spanish side no one towed the trains. Right now, the trip between Vigo and Porto takes two hours and 20 minutes. That is, 140 minutes that would become only 50 minutes once the high-speed connection between both cities is consolidated. In fact, those 140 minutes are what is expected to take between Vigo and Lisbon, a huge leap by current standards. The big loser of the dispute is Extremadura. The region has been hearing for years about a Madrid-Lisbon connection that never seems to come. After years where trains have been a real headache, everything indicates that high speed should be completely ready in the region by 2030 but the delay to 2034 has been marked by the deadlines on the Portuguese side. The step forward in high speed is also key in Extremaduran mobility because, for example, it will allow connecting Madrid with Cáceres in one hour (right now it takes more than three hours) and Madrid with Mérida or Badajoz in just over an hour and a half when to reach the latter from Madrid you have to spend more than four and a half hours. Photo | Pedro Correia, Joaoalves0217 and Mstyslav Chernov In Xataka | Madrid and Lisbon will be linked by the AVE. It will only arrive (if it arrives) 24 years late

Madrid was going to ban cars without a label forever. Now they will be able to circulate (almost) always

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After two years extending a measure that had been scheduled for 2022, the Madrid City Council has confirmed that cars without a label that pay their taxes in the city will be able to circulate throughout (almost) the entire city. In these moments, They can do it under certain conditions but it is nothing more than an extension in the application of a measure that should have been activated in 2024. Now they want this to be forever. What has happened? Borja Carabante, head of the mobility area of ​​the Madrid City Council, has confirmed that the city will allow cars without a label to circulate in the city. In a press release that can be read at Europa Pressthe Popular Group of Madrid points out that the measure has to be approved with a modification of the Mobility Ordinance in which an amendment from this political group will be included. The modification has to be supported by more political groups but Vox’s support seems guaranteed. With this change, cars without a label that pay the circulation tax in the city will be able to move without restrictions except in the special protection zones, applied in Plaza Elíptica and the most central part of the city, what was once Madrid Central. But does this already apply? Yes and no. Right now, cars without a label cannot circulate in Madrid unless they are registered and pay their taxes in the city. Since 2024, cameras monitor all entrances to the city and only cars with DGT A badges (without label) those who pay the tax in Madrid can circulate. This measure should have been extended to all vehicles, without exception, without DGT labeling in 2024. That is, regardless of where their owners lived or where taxes were paid, these cars would be prohibited from circulating. What we want now is to give them free rein without the need for extensions. Extensions? Yes, extensions. December 12, 2024the Madrid City Council confirmed that the total ban on cars without a label was not going to apply. He then assured that the measure had a great impact on citizens and that since the air quality limits had been met, one more year unlabeled cars could circulate in Madrid as long as they paid their taxes in the capital. Therefore, in 2025 there was a free pass for these cars and 2026 should be the year in which the ban was confirmed. But as happened last year, On December 11, 2025, the message was repeated: Cars without a label will be able to circulate for another year. This time, however, it was pointed out that the impact of these cars was minimal because they were only counted about 14,000 vehicles who found themselves in this situation. From 1.2 million to a few. The controversy over the extensions has flown over the months of December 2024 and 2025. In August 2024, Associated European Motorists (AEA) had been warning that the measure left 1.2 million cars outside the city. As we tell you in Xatakathe figure was inaccurate and was due to errors in the vehicle count. In reality, we were talking about 246,000 cars. Last year, the doubt was raised again in the last days of the year and on December 11 it was confirmed: a new extension until 2026. This time the excuse was that the affected cars had a minimal impact on the city’s air quality. Now the mobility area amounts to just over 11,000 cars those that do not have a DGT label. This means that, in anticipation of the ban, tens of thousands of drivers had sold their cars to get one with at least a B label. Those same drivers have seen that those who did not sell and keep the car have ended up getting away with it. a detail. That is, if you want driving around Madrid with a car without a labelright now you can if the car pays its taxes in Madrid. But, yes, it has to be in your name and you must pay this tax in the city from 2022, an exceptional measure that was included so that thousands of drivers did not register their car in the city and circulated normally despite living outside of it. In the press release sent by the city’s mobility area this detail is not mentioned. In Xataka We have tried to contact this working group to confirm whether this restriction will remain in place or not but, at the time of writing, we have not received a response. Yes, but. In addition, there are two other vicissitudes to take into account. The first is that the information sent states that vehicles without a label will only be able to park in the regulated parking zones (Zona SER) of the neighborhoods where their owner lives. Therefore, if you want to travel to another neighborhood with Zona SER you will have to park in a public or private parking lot but off the streets. The other detail to take into account is that the passage will be allowed as long as the stations that monitor air quality levels do not exceed the maximum allowed of 40 micrograms per cubic meter of NOx that would activate the anti-pollution protocol that begins to restrict the circulation of vehicles and that with Manuela Carmena at the helm came to limit circulation by license plate number. Madrid has been complying with the established air quality limits for four years and with Martínez-Almeida at the helm, this protocol has never been activated, so its activation, if it occurs, would be exceptional. Photo | NuKi Chikhladze and Quique Olivar In Xataka | The icing on the cake for Madrid’s works: the city has become a gymkhana of reforms, cuts and annoyances

There is a luxury development in Madrid that has been “hidden” for years and is stealing the spotlight from La Finca and La Moraleja

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If we think about luxury developments in Madrid, names like La Finca or La Moraleja probably come to mind. However, there is a new player on the Madrid luxury real estate board, one that has gone unnoticed for decades and has recently become fashionable among the richest. Low profile. Álamos de Bularas is an urbanization that has been standing since the 1980s, but has gone unnoticed in the shadow of more high-profile names such as its neighbor La Finca. Its strong point is precisely that: combining luxury and exclusivity with a lower profile and less media noise than other areas. But just because it is not the most famous urbanization does not mean that it does not offer high-level luxury; a search on housing portals most popular returns us a few properties that border and even exceed 4 million euros. Tranquility is what is most sought after. Like other luxury developments such as La Finca, Somosaguas or Monte Alina, our protagonist is located in Pozuelo de Alarcón (which by the way is the richest municipality in all of Spain) specifically in the northwest area. Álamos de Bulara is a fairly small urbanization, located next to Monte del Pilar, a forested area of ​​about 800 hectares. Access is closed and has private security. The location factor. In statements to the AD Magazinethe head of the Ketier real estate agency highlights that location is a key factor for more and more buyers to look at Álamos de Bularas. The urbanization is very well connected, with access to both the M40 and the A6, allowing its residents to be in the center of Madrid in less than half an hour and in the center of Pozuelo in just 10 minutes. In addition, it is very close to some prestigious private schools and sports clubs. The new refuge for VIPs. The housing crisis is also impacting how and where the wealthiest shop. We were recently talking about luxury apartments in Madrid were so expensivewhich urbanizations like La Moraleja or La Finca were becoming more “affordable” options“for the great fortunes. According to a Colliers report A year ago, the square meter in neighborhoods such as Salamanca or Chamberí reached peaks that exceeded 27,000 euros per square meter. This has caused many buyers to seek residence in peripheral areas, where demand has increased. In Xataka | The rich neighborhoods of Madrid and Barcelona have changed their accent: millionaires from the US and Mexico invest their fortunes in Spain Image | Max Vakhtbovych, Pexels

In Madrid they sell an apartment for 20.9 million euros. The question is not whether it is the most expensive in history, but what that means

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He has earned the unofficial title “most expensive apartment in Madrid” and, although it is difficult to confirm it because in the luxury sector there are operations that never reach transcendence, it certainly has the potential to be so. To start with its price. The apartment that Property Partners announces in Jerónimos, in the heart of the capital, it costs a whopping 20.9 million euros. Beyond that figure, the home’s size (1,008 m2), display of luxuries and extras is striking. For example, it has no decoration. It has “works of art.” Not a typical main room, but a “social area” that covers about 200 m2. In any other advertisement that vocabulary might sound like an exaggeration. Not here. The most expensive apartment in all of Madrid? So suggests it Property Partners, which claims to have in its portfolio what is “considered” the “most expensive property in Madrid.” The same unofficial title has been recognized in recent days several economic means, premises and generalistsincluding Tele Madrid that refers to the luxurious apartment as “the most expensive in the history” of the city. In reality, it is very difficult to confirm whether this is the case or not because discretion prevails in the luxury market. Many operations are closed with hardly any publicity, almost with their backs to the market. Others don’t. Last year, without going any further, John Taylor, a French real estate company specializing in luxury, brokered the sale of a home that was valued at 20 million. The property in question was located near Retiro Park and measured about 1,100 m2. The 20.9 million flat announced by Property has been announced for several months, although the agency assures that “there are offer processes” underway and interested people who have already made several visits. Click on the image to go to the tweet. What is the housing like? Enormous. And that’s an understatement. According to the token Published by the real estate agency itself, the apartment has a constructed area of ​​1,008 m2, although it identifies 812 m2 as “housing area”. Seven bedrooms (five en suite), six bathrooms and three toilets are distributed throughout this vast space, as well as amenities such as a gym, wine cellar and large living rooms. A reporter from EPE was able to visit the apartment and says that one of the first things that catches your attention is a 200 m2 room named “social area”. Do we know more? Yes. And it points in the same direction: that of exclusive luxury. The house, located in Los Jerónimos, has five parking spaces and two storage rooms, terraces with views of the Botanical Garden and furniture in line with the profile of its market. Tele Madrid assures Its renovation alone cost two million, to which is added another for the furniture. As a finishing touch, it incorporates works of art. That the apartment (the agency dates it back to the 70s) is so spacious in the heart of the center is explained by its past: in reality it is made up of three independent homes that a former owner bought and mergedoccupying an entire floor. Why is it interesting? Because beyond how striking the price or the characteristics of the apartment are, the advertisement connects with a larger trend: the increase in price of the home. That the price per square meter has been rising for years (in Madrid and the rest of Spain) is nothing new. Idealistic sample that in the last year the m2 has skyrocketed by 14.8% in the capital, reaching a maximum of almost €5,900/m2, although there are certain areas where this value is much higher. In Retiro there are more than 7,800 and in Salamanca they are close to 10,000. The announcement of the Los Jerónimos apartment reminds us, however, that the price increase is not exclusive to the conventional residential market. It also affects luxury. At the end of 2025 Diza Market published a report which shows that the cost of prime housing in the region rose by 95% in a matter of a decade, between 2014 and 2025. The analysis focused, however, on the luxury sector in which houses worth several million are moved, without reaching stratospheric figures. Are there more indicators? Yes. Savills has published another report in which it points out that the price of prime housing in the capital “triples the rate of global growth expected for 2026.” “If we focus the analysis on the first consolidated, the average prices in Madrid are around €16,000-17,000/m2, reaching peaks of between €25,000 and €30,000/m2”, details Santiago de Miguel, director. “The forecast is that the market will continue slightly bullish, but with sustained demand. The international buyer continues to have his sights set on Madrid.” “The Madrid market super luxury has reached a degree of maturity that allows operations of this caliber,” agrees an interview with Five Days Felipe Reuse, from Property Partner. Data from the Notarial Statistical Portal show In fact, the dynamism of the market in the heart of Madrid, with the m2 above 11,000 m2, and where foreign buyers have a relevant weight, representing a third of the total. There are those who already points out that the demand is going outside the city, towards La Moraleja or La Finca. Image | Chris Curry (Unsplash) In Xataka | There is a Europe that is suffocating to pay for housing and another that lives in peace. And this map shows the differences

build a “military Silicon Valley” in the heart of Madrid

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In recent years, security has become the new silent motor of European industrial policy. Wars and pressures between allies have modified plans. It is no longer just about manufacturing more, but about deciding where, how and under what control strategic capabilities of the future are built. Spain, in fact, is in search and capture of a node that amplifies its defense. The obstacle of the ground and an ambition. Spain wants to accelerate its military modernization and the centerpiece is to concentrate talent, engineering and technological development in a single large complex. Here appears Indra who, apparently, is looking for 77 hectares in the area of ​​Madrid to build a macrohub of up to 300,000 square meters dedicated to radars, electronic defense, communications and industrial digitalization, with a investment of 385 million backed by the European Investment Bank and the promise of thousands of skilled jobs (speaking of more than 3,000 new positions). The project, initially linked to Torrejón de Ardoz, has been slowed down by administrative slowness and is now considering other locations in the Henares Corridor, an area that the company considers strategic to reinforce a technological hub capable of responding to the new modernization programs of the Armed Forces. A military Silicon Valley. The ambition, on paper, goes beyond a simple corporate center. The idea is to create a complete ecosystem where laboratories, simulators, advanced manufacturing and auxiliary companies come together, turning the Madrid axis into a kind of Military Silicon Valley Spanish. The strategic plan Leading the Future aims to consolidate Indra as a driver of the defense and aerospace sector, attracting suppliers, research centers and technological startups that revolve around a strong industrial core. It is not, therefore, just about constructing buildings, but about articulate an innovation network that places Spain in a more autonomous and competitive position on the European board. Corporate engineering to avoid losing control. In parallel, the Government is moving to ensure that this national defense champion does not escape public control. As? Apparently, Moncloa is studying transferring Indra’s defense assets to a new subsidiary that allows the integration of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering and eventually other companies in the sector, all without diluting state participation through SEPI. counted the newspaper El Mundo There is a compelling reason behind this movement. The formula aims to avoid the conflict of interest derived from Ángel Escribano’s dual status as president of Indra and co-owner of EM&M, and to avoid a loss of control over an industry considered strategic. Industrial consolidation under pressure. The merger by absorption initially approved generated tensions due to shareholder balance and the risk of litigation, but undoing the path is not easy either. I remembered the media that Indra and EM&M have signed contracts under the heat of public credits linked to military programs and, in practice, they have operated as if integration were already underway. Added to this is the pressure of new international investors who see consolidation as a clear opportunity to create value. The result is a pulse between industrial ambition, state control and political times, one that will define whether Spain manages to articulate that “sovereignty mode” with a technological-military pole, or if societal complexity slows down the project that aspires to transform the heart of the country at the epicenter of its new defense industry. Image | RawPixel, Felipe Gabaldon In Xataka | Spain has been a weapons exporting power for decades. Now he has made a decision: keep them In Xataka | In the midst of rearmament, Spain has just surprised Europe: 5,000 million for 34 warships and four submarines

the BUS-HOV lane between Alcorcón and Madrid

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From January 2025, the residents of Paseo de Extremadura in Madrid They are finding out the hard way what it entails. bury four kilometers of one of the arteries of the city. It is no longer that the entrance to the capital along the A-5 has become a traffic jam nightmarebut in a dangerous road due to the urban ‘Mario Kart’ that has been formed. But beyond the traffic jams, the problem is that access to Madrid is being strangled for many people who live in municipalities in the metropolitan southwest. Let them tell Alcorcón. Madrid at rush hour it is not an easy city to travel, but when you cut lanes on a highway and overload the detours that are already saturated at certain times, things get complicated. To try to alleviate the load, a BUS-HOV lane so that the buses could circulate from kilometer 14 to the Parque Oeste de Alcorcón. And, although it is said that “the most difficult of the works has already happened”, the reality is that there is an interesting bottleneck between the capital and cities like Alcorcón, Móstoles or Boadilla. And, as it could not be otherwise, that BUS-HOV lane has become a source of dispute between the town councils of Alcorcón and Madrid. A road as a throwing weapon In this story there is a crossover of accusations. On the one hand, from Alcorcón, criticism that the works and measures implemented are causing delays in one of the most important commercial points in the city. The reason is that the lane that was made available for buses is underused while private vehicles clog the roads. And part of the problem comes from there: that bus lane takes up part of the roadpreventing private cars from using all the available width. And if the buses flowed, there would be no problem, but that is not the case. As pointed out The Alcorcón Gazettethe residents have asked that the lane be eliminated, returning to a road for general use, but the mayor of the town has insisted on extending the BUS-HOV lane to Príncipe Pío, now in the capital. Candelaria Testa states in her petition that the expansion of the lane to the M-30 tunnel is “fundamental to facilitate the connection of the residents of Alcorcón with the capital.” However, and as the newspaper reports, the residents are asking for something else: to first decongest Alcorcón and then focus on the needs of those who travel to Madrid. The Madrid city council has responded through Borja Carabante, Mobility delegate. As we read in The reasonthe official assures that “there is less and less left for the execution of the tunnel to be a reality”, ensuring that, by the end of the year, “all the buses will be circulating through it, arriving directly to Príncipe Pío.” Carabante assures that Testa has been “putting spokes in the wheel of the work”, and in the end that traffic jam between Alcorcón and Madrid It has turned into a fight between the two town councils. The neighbors have disgraced the mayor for not asking the Minister of Transportation for solutions, Oscar Puentewhile they see how a political dispute is once again the topic of conversation while they continue wasting time and money in traffic jams. The end, and unfortunately, is just one more chapter in works that are causing recurring headaches for both residents and those who need the corridor to get to and from their jobs. Internet, electricity and water cuts (Cheer up, mate Javi) have occurred without prior notice, the noise It is a constant and all that remains is to have hope in the great promise. That “the worst is over.” If you pass by there daily, I’m sure it’s a comfort. Images | Madrid City Council, DGT In Xataka | The icing on the cake for Madrid’s works: the city has become a gymkhana of reforms, cuts and annoyances

Unclogging Madrid is not an easy task, but the residents of Colmenar Viejo and Tres Cantos believe they have the solution: close the M-50

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Unclogging Madrid seems like an impossible taskand perhaps it is, since it is one of the densest European capitals in terms of kilometers of highways and motorways. However, that does not prevent its residents from asking for better connections and ways to avoid the gigantic traffic jams that occur every day in the capital. One of the problems has to do with the M-50, and is that the residents of Colmenar Viejo and Tres Cantos have returned to demand the closure of this highway as an urgent measure to end the traffic jams that clog the main access roads to the north of Madrid every day. What happens with the M-50. The neighborhood platforms of both municipalities insist that “closing the M-50 is a definitive solution,” according to has collected Telemadrid. The situation is especially critical, since in some sections of the M-607, especially on the Colmenar highway, traffic density skyrockets every day, causing significant delays both at the entrances and exits to the capital. Neighbors claim that closing this road would relieve pressure on the A-1 and other vital axes in the northern part. What exactly do they propose? What is requested is not to physically close the highway, but to apply a model similar to that of the M-30 or M-40: restrict access to the most polluting vehicles to significantly reduce the volume of cars that circulate daily. This formula, they argue from Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo, would decongest the roads and provide a respite for thousands of drivers who use their vehicle as the only way to get to their jobs. Why the measure is rejected. The administrations have been rejecting the proposal for years for one main reason: if the M-50 is closed or restricted, it would further complicate mobility in Madrid. Many drivers currently use this route precisely to avoid the Low Emission Zones of the M-30 or the M-40. Hence there is fear of diverting traffic to other routes and that the alternatives end up becoming saturated. Other important implications are environmental in nature. And this closure would directly affect the Regional Park of the Cuenca Alta del Manzanares and Monte de El Pardo, key protected spaces in the Natura 2000 Network. The main impact would not be to “destroy” the park in its entirety, but rather high-value ecosystems would be fragmented, interrupting ecological corridors, affecting the habitats of protected species and altering natural processes such as aquifer recharge and the dynamics of the Manzanares River. Even the alternatives with tunnels carry significant risks (very invasive works, ventilation, impact on the subsoil and hydrology). Added to this is the indirect effect of adding more traffic and urbanization on an already sensitive stretch. What is being done in the meantime. To try to alleviate the problem, they are already underway the works of a third lane on the M-607specifically in the section between Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo. This measure seeks to reduce congestion in one of the busiest accesses, although residents maintain that it is a partial solution that does not address the underlying problem. Who should decide. According to neighborhood organizations, the competition to execute the closure corresponds to the central government. From the ‘Platform for the Completion of the M-50’ they denounce that the project has been delayed legislature after legislature due to lack of budget and political will, while their requests remain unaddressed. Cover image | Wikipedia (Zarateman) In Xataka | Extremadura is experiencing the same situation that it already experienced in the Roman Empire: an unfinished highway that isolates half the region

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