The residents of the Zofío neighborhood, in the Usera district from Madrid, they wake up every morning for a month with the confusion that another car has been vandalized during the night, something that has been happening for a month exclusively on Cerecinos street. Those familiar with the situation have stopped parking there, a free parking route, even though it is difficult to find free spaces in other areas. But there are still many who leave their car without knowing that the next morning it may appear spray-painted, with broken windows, burned tires or with the vehicle completely burned. This last method has surprised the neighbors even more this Thursday morning, since it is the first time that the vandalism it gets to that point. Nobody knows who is causing this damage, nor the reasons that drive them to this escalation. Those affected have reported the events to the Municipal and National Police, who are carrying out an investigation, with no results so far.
Sources close to the case point out that a blowtorch was located near the burned cars early Thursday morning and investigations indicate that flammable liquid was used, since the spread of the flames was very fast. Cerecinos Street crosses the Olof Palme park and in its vicinity, in addition to the República de Venezuela school, there are only green areas and outdoor recreation areas.
It is a busy road during the day and not very active at night. For this reason, no residents of the surrounding areas have seen the perpetrators, who have been intensifying their attacks since the end of September. Another difficulty is that right at the point where the fires occurred there is no video surveillance camera. Neighbors complain that the City Council has not responded to their demands to install security cameras that cover the entire road.
Mario Pinto claims that his brother had his white car painted with black spray, including license plate, just as has happened to other vehicle owners. As long as he did not remove the paint from the license plate, he could not drive, but that is minor damage compared to the cars whose windows have been broken or the two burned vehicles this Thursday. The president of the Zofío Neighborhood AssociationFrancisco Rodríguez comments that those who have a comprehensively insured vehicle have fewer problems, unlike those who are not fully covered. “There is a lot of worry and fear,” says Rodríguez.
The vice mayor and delegate of Security and Emergencies, Inma Sanz, reported this Friday morning that the Municipal and National Police have been developing a joint device “with many plainclothes agents and camouflaged cars” for several weeks. According to Sanz, several possible culprits have already been identified, so they hope that the situation will be resolved “as soon as possible.” Even so, the reasons for the vandalism are unknown. “We don’t have that information. They are operations that are open, so we have to be prudent,” he stated.
What used to be a street where you could hardly find a parking space, these days has several free spaces, which drivers who know of the vandalism that has been happening for weeks do not dare to occupy. Grecia Lescano lives a few meters from the Olof de Palme park and comments that her husband usually parks his car in this area. “On Wednesday night he parked three or four cars away from those that were burned and in the morning, when he went to pick up his car, between six and half past six, he didn’t see anything,” he says. The strong smell of burning still lingered in the surroundings on Thursday afternoon, which is why she believes her husband did not notice anything because the events had not yet occurred.
The neighbors who pass by the place are impressed by the direction that the vandalism is taking on this street. They stop to take photos “to alert other family members and friends” and some launch theories about what could be happening, from that the culprits are “very bad people,” to that they are protesting the implementation of the Regulated Parking Service (SER) in several areas near Usera.
The president of the Barrio Zofío association denies that this is the cause, since he does not find any relationship, since Cerecinos street has free parking. The Madrid City Council indicates that they have not received any complaints about the implementation of the SER in nearby areas. They are aware of a neighborhood demand that motivated the consultation for the implementation of the SER in the district, in which “the neighbors also endorsed, in a majority, the implementation of the service.” Ángel Calvo, a resident of Zofío, believes the protest would have the objective of ensuring that a SER zone is not created on Cerecinos Street, but the City Council has confirmed that a short-term implementation on that street is not planned.
With information from Patricia Peiró.
