Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has called the Mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz (PP), a “liar” and “unpresentable” before clarifying on the social network X, formally Twitter, that he will not meet with him. The controversy arose after the complaint from the popular mayor believing that the ministry was delaying payments to the Seville metro. Puente exploded against Sanz and denied the allegations by highlighting that the request to reschedule investments for the metro line 3 north was made by the Andalusian government (ruled by the PP) to the Government, for it to pay 650 million until 2030, but with a different schedule. After his meeting with the mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo (PP), to agree on the undergrounding of the AVE in that city, Puente accused the Seville mayor of always trying to create territorial conflicts, after Sanz said that the delay was to finance infrastructure in Catalonia.
The Andalusian government confirmed last Wednesday that the redistribution of payments was agreed due to the delay in signing the agreement, so the government’s investment decreases from 2023 to 2025 and increases from 2026 to 2030, but always with the total amount of 650 million, as agreed in a monitoring committee meeting on July 22. The financing of the Seville metro is split 50/50 between the Ministry and the Andalusian government, and this line 3 covers 7.5 kilometers with 12 stations. Before the minister’s insults to Sanz, the mayor had said at a public event: “Why put such an important infrastructure like the Seville metro at risk? We are facing the most anti-Seville government in our democratic history (…) I do not want to think that the funds that were destined for the metro are delayed because they are going to Catalonia. 20 million are given to the City Council of Barcelona and 5.3 million to the metropolitan area of Barcelona.”
Now, the mayor has avoided escalating the controversy: “I would never insult a minister of the Spanish government because it would be insulting all Spaniards. It seems that the minister does not have this criterion and does not mind insulting the mayor of all Sevillians. Although I am willing to endure his insults and disdain if they are accompanied by the investments and infrastructure that Seville needs,” he wrote on the X network. The Andalusian government has until November 30th to justify the work done, which will be paid for by the ministry before December 31st, Puente highlighted in his response. During his visit to Granada, aside from the confrontation with the Seville mayor, the minister attended a meeting with the Andalusian government and the City Council of that city for the agreement to integrate the AVE in Granada and other connections such as railway traffic of goods between Antequera and Almería through a technical panel that has been delayed 15 years.
In parallel, Puente announced that the route of the informative study for the high-speed rail between Seville and Huelva has obtained a favorable environmental impact statement, allowing the first section of the high-speed connection between the Andalusian capital and Huelva to be tendered next year, covering the distance in about 40 minutes.
