Unexpected Crisis in the Ayuso Government: A ‘Religious Illuminati’ and His Contracts Worth Over 75,000 Euros for Theater Productions in Madrid
Antonio Castillo Algarra, a playwright who covertly managed culture and education, leveraged his connections with President Isabel Díaz Ayuso to advance his career.
For years, Antonio Castillo Algarra has pulled the strings of education and culture in Madrid as an external advisor to Isabel Díaz Ayuso. He wielded power from the shadows through close associates he had placed within the Popular Party (PP) and the Madrid Government, including the former Minister of Education, two key general directors, and three deputies in the Assembly. Simultaneously, this privileged position propelled his career as a playwright. According to contracts obtained by EL PAÍS, his company, ‘For the Fun of It,’ has received over 75,000 euros since Ayuso became president.
This week, the Madrid leader faced her most significant internal crisis due to this matter. On Monday, she dismissed the Minister, Emilio Viciana, which triggered a cascade of resignations and dismissals among Algarra’s close circle, known in the corridors of Sol as the ‘pocholos’ due to their affluent youth aesthetic. When forced to choose, they opted for loyalty to Algarra over Ayuso. The playwright installed them, and with him, they depart. Algarra himself resigned from his position as artistic director of the Spanish Ballet of the Community of Madrid, a company whose creation he proposed to the president. Within hours, the extent of influence held by an advisor without an official position and lacking experience in public educational management was laid bare.
The Trail of Contracts: Minor Sums, Major Influence
Algarra’s footprint is most clearly traceable in the Public Procurement Portal. A review reveals that his company received at least six contracts. The first, in 2020, was for 8,470 euros for a play performed at the Coliseo Theater in San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The following year, he repurposed the same play for the Teatros del Canal and the Salón Cervantes, totaling 21,780 euros. In 2022, his next theatrical venture was a musical adapted by Algarra, ‘Más acá de los romances,’ for which the Ministry invested just over 13,310 euros. These were categorized as minor contracts, thus not requiring public tender as they were below 15,000 euros each.
For an exhibition Algarra named ‘Teatro del Mundo,’ ‘For the Fun of It’ received 31,800 euros, a sum that also covered advertising and further increased its value. In total, 75,360 euros. An additional 26,000 euros could be added for re-editing ‘Más acá de los romances’ at the Royal Theater Foundation, but that entity is directed by Gregorio Marañón y Bertrán de Lis, considered the first independent president in the institution’s history (its board includes the central government, the Community, and the Madrid City Council). Interestingly, this play, which narrates the life of philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal, premieres this Saturday at the Real Teatro de Retiro, with Algarra serving as general and artistic director. He also features as a protagonist in the cast. In a press release for a previous exhibition of this musical, Algarra is credited as co-author. His name appears twice, and his company’s name seven times.
The Ballet and the ‘Pocholos’: A Web of Connections
The creation of the Spanish Ballet of the Community of Madrid was also Algarra’s initiative, as acknowledged by the Minister of Culture, Mariano de Paco. The Minister shares a very close relationship with Algarra but is not considered a ‘pocholo.’ When Más Madrid deputy Marisa Escalante questioned De Paco in a committee about Algarra’s role in the ballet, he responded unequivocally: “He is the person who conceived, devised, and understood that this community needed its own ballet.” He then asserted that Algarra acted altruistically. EL PAÍS was the first newspaper to reveal Algarra’s identity and the immense power he wielded, despite being largely unknown to the public. Even within Sol, his name was not prominent before the publication. Deputy Escalante has been tracking his activities ever since.
Ayuso admired the playwright. His ideological core is conservative, explains someone who has dealt with him extensively, but above all, he is a “religious illuminati.” A man with an exaggerated self-concept who narrates his personal history as a Homeric epic, as can be read in an interview he gave to a blog called Albidanza. He recounts meeting Ayuso when she worked on Cristina Cifuentes’s team, the former PP president. The first public and evident sign of their closeness appeared on Instagram, where Ayuso wrote him the following message in 2018: “Antonio, you are the king. We love you.” The now-president was commenting on an RNE report about Algarra’s academy because, at the time, philosophy had returned to classrooms, and he taught it. The text was illustrated with a photograph of Algarra and several other young men, including Nicolás Casas, who would later become Ayuso’s director of universities.
The Systemic Anomaly: Viciana and Algarra’s Co-governance
He reached that position, like the others, at Algarra’s suggestion. In 2023, when the president sought to refresh the PP’s bench and her government, she asked him to propose names of bright and highly qualified young people. Those he proposed had passed through his academy, which began as a tutoring center for teenagers and later included preparation for public employee exams, before venturing into performing arts. His most strategically placed pawn in the heart of the government was Emilio Viciana, the eldest of them all. The Minister, according to sources close to Ayuso, listened more to Algarra than to Ayuso, and they believe he is even behind the drafting of the public financing law that the president aimed to pass this legislature.
Viciana failed to achieve this, which exhausted Ayuso’s and Miguel Ángel Rodríguez’s (her chief advisor) patience. This was compounded by his poor understanding with the rectors of the six public universities, who once again deemed the government’s budget insufficient this year. The significant impact of a strike on campuses late last year also did not help. And, as an undercurrent, there was always the feeling that Viciana co-governed with Algarra, an anomaly that the opposition considers unacceptable after almost two years in office.
Furthermore, rumors reached the government’s inner circle that Algarra had turned the ballet into his personal fiefdom, even making life impossible for its first director, the renowned Jesús Carmona, a dancer, choreographer, and artistic director. According to three consulted sources, the situation within the company was unsustainable, and Carmona resigned shortly after the company premiered its first work in December 2024. The criticism against the first show was scathing. De Paco, according to the same sources, was aware of the situation. Algarra, despite not being a ballet expert, controlled key aspects of the productions, such as choreography and staging. He would greet spectators at the door and seat them, according to those who worked with him. Afterward, he would sometimes ask the audience to join in a collective prayer. He was a political and spiritual leader. His artistic endeavors were funded by the Community of Madrid.
Unanswered Questions and Future Implications
The revelations surrounding Antonio Castillo Algarra’s influence and the lucrative contracts awarded to his company raise serious questions about transparency, ethics, and the governance within the Community of Madrid. The swift dismissals and resignations suggest an attempt to contain the damage, but the underlying issues of unchecked influence and potential conflicts of interest remain.
The ‘pocholos’ network, cultivated by Algarra and placed in key government positions, highlights a systemic vulnerability to external, unelected influence. The public’s trust in institutions can be eroded when such relationships are perceived to supersede merit and proper procedure.
The incident also underscores the importance of rigorous oversight in public procurement, particularly for ‘minor contracts’ that can bypass competitive bidding processes. The cumulative value of contracts awarded to ‘For the Fun of It’ demonstrates how seemingly small sums can add up to significant public expenditure without adequate scrutiny.
As the dust settles on this political upheaval, the focus will undoubtedly shift to how the Ayuso government addresses these concerns and implements measures to prevent similar situations in the future. The episode serves as a stark reminder of the constant vigilance required to uphold ethical standards in public service and ensure accountability.
Sources: Investigative journalism, EL PAÍS newspaper, Public Procurement Portal, interviews with anonymous sources and former government officials, ‘Albidanza’ blog, Instagram post by Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
