Madrid authorities announce new measures following riots this weekend

Following the disturbances between groups of South American and Spanish youths in Alcorcon , Soledad Mestre, a representative of the Madrid Government, has assured the public that there are no Latin American gangs in Alcorcón.

The riots occurred on Saturday evening in Alcorcon, a suburb of Madrid, between a group of Spanish youths and a group of South Americans. Three youths were injured, one seriously, and seven were detained by the police. Yesterday a demonstration against violent South American gangs resulted in further disturbances between youths and Spanish police.

In an interview with Cadena Ser, Soledad Mestre announced a series of new measures aimed at eradicating the current disturbances. She said that the police would keep a high profile and that they would work closely with heads of secondary schools in order to detect even the smallest outbreak of violence between youths.

She also said that she had contacted the Mayor of Alcorcón to ensure that norms established to achieve integration in educational establishments were being adhered to, and that she would do the same for all the districts in Madrid in order to promote coexistence between different ethnic groups.

Mestre said that the situation was under control and that yesterday the streets of Alcorcón were peaceful and that she hoped that the weekend’s disturbances had been an isolated incident. She said that she was worried that there would be an outbreak of xenophobia in the area – a justified concern as it was reported on Spanish television this morning that sms text messages urging youngsters to repeat the fights next weekend – and insisted that there was no evidence to suggest the existence of organized violent Latn American street gangs in Madrid.

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