Más Madrid proposes cultural income to promote access to culture

Mónica García, the candidate for the presidency of the Community of Madrid for Más Madrid, proposed a cultural income of 250 euros with a total investment of six million euros to facilitate access to culture for people with economic or social difficulties. She announced this during a meeting with various cultural associations to present them with the party's plans for cultural policy.

García argued that culture is a right that opens the doors to the future and empathy, which some people lack. She advocates for a "transversal" cultural fabric and stressed that culture is "essential," as evidenced during the pandemic when it served as "part of survival and mental stability."

She also criticized the current president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, for signing an agreement with Telemadrid to broadcast bullfighting for two million euros. García argued that with that amount of money, they could cover part of the cultural income, improve eight schools' conditions to avoid overheating, provide 2,000 children with free school meals, and hire 40 pediatricians.

Rita Maestre, the candidate for the mayorship of Madrid for Más Madrid, linked access to culture to her project of the "City of 15 Minutes." She proposed that each neighbourhood should have cultural centres, libraries, cinemas and theatres with the aim of bringing culture to everyone in Madrid.

Más Madrid's cultural programme includes many other proposals, such as increasing the investment in Culture to reach 2% of the total Community Budget, improving the eligibility criteria for public subsidies, and offering direct support to proposals for artists by providing spaces and resources.

They also aim to recover funding for Municipal Schools of Music and Dance and create a digital portal for Culture in the Community of Madrid. At the municipal level, they pledge to open a civic centre specializing in dance and contemporary dance and to increase the municipal budget by 7% to support culture. They also want to expand the LGTBI-themed book collection in municipal libraries and create an Office to Support Creation and offer new funding lines for contemporary culture. They plan to create or expand 14 municipal libraries, six new cultural centres, and develop a Cultural Infrastructure Plan.

Finally, they pledge to introduce a plan for cultural uses in the north of the city, maintain the cultural use of the former Clesa factory, reopen Medialab Prado, expand the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art in Condeduque, and enhance some of Matadero's warehouses.