Madrid is leading the resurgence of the virus in Spain and Europe. But Madrid's center-right government is resisting a citywide partial lockdown, arguing that it doesn’t want to further damage the economy. The regional health chief, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, accused the Spanish government of disregarding health indicators that showed the Madrid region's outbreaks stabilizing. Regional health chief Alba Vergés said that Catalonia had decided to follow its own plan, which she described as more ambitious than the national guidelines designed with Madrid in mind. Much of the conflict has to do with a decades-long political fight for control of the Madrid region, a conservative stronghold that for more than two decades has provided a showcase for the policies of the conservative Popular Party.

Source: ABC News September 30, 2020 12:43 UTC