00:00Spain experiences worse summers of fires in decades.
00:04More than 400,000 hectares have burned according to the Copernicus satellite system.
00:09Four firefighters have lost their lives in firefighting efforts,
00:13and more than 30,000 people have been evacuated.
00:17As the emergency continues, political debate rages in the Senate and in the streets.
00:22Let's see more.
00:25Data confirms that 2025 is already the most devastating year in three decades.
00:30Galicia and Castilla and Leon have been the worst affected and active fires continue in several areas of these regions.
00:36The situation has triggered a bitter political debate with the Popular Party calling the head of civil protection, Virginia Barcones, a pyromaniac.
00:45I believe that hope at this time is already in the hearts of all those who are involved,
00:50seeing that the weather has given us a break,
00:53that it has finally begun to work in favor of extinguishing the fires,
01:00and that we can see the end much closer now.
01:03The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Gran Marlaska,
01:06has responded to criticism from the right which seeks to blame the central government,
01:10even though forest management and prevention are regional responsibilities.
01:13I cannot agree with the partisan use of the Senate
01:17and a catastrophe such as the one we are experiencing to serve the interests
01:22of a party and its strategy of harassing and overthrowing the government,
01:27often based on manipulation and noise.
01:30Meanwhile, forest firefighters denounce a precarious situation due to neoliberal subcontracting,
01:37they point out that they have become multi-emergency core,
01:39and their workloads have increased, but their working conditions have not improved.
01:43Well, I have been working for a private company for almost 20 years,
01:48now I have been with a public company for four years,
01:50I thought we would improve considerably, but that has not been the case.
01:54In the end, business criteria prevail,
01:56I have yet to try direct management by the administration,
01:59which we believe is the best formula.
02:00In the midst of negotiations, the community of Madrid,
02:04governed by Isabel Díez-Iruso,
02:06is trying to avoid responsibility by passing it on to the public company TRAGSA
02:10instead of opting for direct management.
02:13That company agreement is the option that the public company TRAGSA should consider.
02:17What we do is provide a future ecosystem
02:20to make it much easier to achieve better conditions for workers.
02:25Mistrust is also growing among the population,
02:27some suspect that the fires are not simply accidental,
02:30but that there are hidden agendas behind them.
02:33I would say that from my point of view,
02:35I don't know if they are caused by someone with power and so on,
02:38but I think the fires are provoked.
02:41With more than 400,000 hectares devoured by fire
02:44and tens of thousands of people evacuated,
02:46Spain is facing a tragedy that is not only destroying forests and lives,
02:50but also exposing the limits of a model of privatization and cutbacks.
02:54Forest firefighters announce a large protest for October 18th in Madrid
02:58to challenge the lack of prevention and precarious working conditions.
03:02In this context,
03:03the Spanish government has terminated the emergency situation in force
03:07for several weeks due to the strong fires that claimed the life of four people.
03:11On Sunday, only three fires were active simultaneously,
03:15a number considerably lower than the 20 fires that were active
03:19at the most critical moment of the emergency.
03:22The head of Civil Protection Virginia Barcones
03:25assured that although the situation was practically under control,
03:29nobody can lower their guard
03:31because this event could be repeated
03:33due to the dangerous temperatures and the scarce rains.
03:36Therefore, it is necessary
03:38that both the authorities and the population remain alert.
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