Netting a Redefined Madrid–Valencia Partnership

The legend says the gate of Madrid’s ancient wall, where Sol square now stands, got its name from the direction it faced. It looked east toward the horizon where the day began. That is where its name comes from. As in a solar system, the central hub of communications in Spain has long exuded a gravitational pull on Valencia. Sometimes it attracts, other times it repels. This, in fact, marks one of the major shifts since May 28. It no coincidence that Carlos Mazón’s debut on Iberian soil happened with a summit alongside Isabel Díaz Ayuso. It is not accidental that María José Catalá, after signing a cooperation agreement with Madrid’s city hall, today loudly launches that alliance with a traditional Valencia style show of firecrackers in Madrid. This is a new course. During Botànic years, Ximo Puig and Compromís sought Valencian visibility in Spain from the outside, even by clashing with Madrid. Joan Ribó took a more discreet path, forming alliances with other cities that champion change, such as Ada Colau’s Barcelona or Pedro Santiesteve’s Zaragoza. Puig used data and academic research to challenge centralism, framing a report commissioned by Presidència to the IVIE that quantified the concentration of seats, influence, and public investments that favor Madrid and measured what was called the center’s effect. AVE: Spain in a circular orbit Entrepreneurs from other forums and different coordinates aligned with this view. The Quiero Corredor campaign, led by Vicente Boluda and Juan Roig’s AVE association, spent eight years building a case for a circular Spain to complement the radial Spain. The CEV association, led by Salvador Navarro, hosted symbolic meetings such as the Zaragoza gathering in 2021 of business leaders from the old Crown of Aragon to push the Mediterranean-Cantabrian axis as a strategic path alongside the Mediterranean. What did Botànic aim for? A federal project to truly unite the country and lift the informational and emotional blackout that left many regions forgotten. Amid the Catalonia-Madrid ping-pong, Valencia stood as the voice for a polycentric Spain, a senior official recalled. That has changed today. Two decades after the Prosperity Axis launched under Camps, Aguirre, and Matas, a Madrid–Valencia power line returns. It is not logical for Botànic to launch attacks on Madrid; tax cuts and new projects for Madrid are not controversial in the PP, where cutting taxes is a public stance of support, notes Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca, the PP’s general secretary. Another key to the revived relationship is pursuing influence in Spain through Madrid, not against it. Aligning interests and not clashing opens doors for strategic investments in rail infrastructure or Valencia’s port, and it also highlights the value of Madrid’s tourist draw, he adds. Boira: Madrid is already a corridor The broader Madrid–Valencia context today is different from 2004. Josep Vicent Boira, the government commissioner for the Mediterranean Corridor, recalls a critical point. In 2021, Brussels rewired European rail corridors. Suddenly, the Madrid–Valencia corridor and the Sagunt–Teruel–Zaragoza routes joined the Mediterranean corridor. Europe’s map symbolically merged two national visions that Valencian political forces have used as reference. This is a substantial shift because the early Eje de la Prosperidad aimed to counter a potent Mediterranean axis. Now the Valencia–Madrid connection is part of the Mediterranean corridor, a strategic anchor for Spain’s network. The psychologist-geographer in Valencia emphasizes how important this is for building a connected national system. There was a time when coordinating the Mediterranean axis was not a priority, or even undesirable. Aznar explains in his memoirs how changing the political color of Levante posed a major challenge for the center-right and how keeping the link between Madrid and Valencia could create useful national balance against Catalan and Valencian expansion. Thus the Aznar government blocked Valencia’s Mediterranean corridor inclusion on Brussels’ prioritized axes. Many years have passed, and many changes occurred. Vicent Andrés Estellés would have noted that 2004 did not yet have the Valencia business lobby Conexus, nor the Madrid–Valencia high-speed line. The conditions arrived in 2010. Today, Madrid–Valencia economic ties are strategic, with the port playing a central role. Relations enacted in a network of governance Today, fourteen projects tied to the Mediterranean corridor deliver direct benefits to traffic between Madrid and Valencia. A move toward a smarter territorial mesh also aims to weave a network of political relations. There is no interest in双 standards of dialogue; the aim is to normalize synergies across Spain. The Valencia port remains a shared priority with Madrid’s ongoing economic exchanges—Barcelona’s port also aims to grow its own role in this architecture. Noguera: a calm leadership In this landscape, what role might Valencia play? Agnès Noguera of Libertas 7 notes that Valencia holds a privileged position in Spain. Reputational challenges have faded and major firms have set up operations there. Valencia has built strong relationships with Madrid and Catalonia, and the Quiero Corredor initiative stands as a testament to calm leadership. Valencia’s stance today is clear, she says. The regional position and its worldview offer a real opportunity to contribute to Spain’s growth, acting as a bridge among regions that sometimes clash. This ability should be used to advance shared goals that serve everyone. Catalonia’s role still to be determined What role will Catalonia play in this balance of power advanced by Presidència de la Generalitat? For now, institutional ties are limited. Carlos Mazón plans a March visit to Barcelona to attract Catalan investments and companies. Foment del Treball will host him, but no meeting with Pere Aragonès is planned, though the Catalan president will be kept informed of Mazón’s presence in the city. In Valencia, the Premis Octubre event caused some discomfort due to the Catalan president not communicating about his visit. Relations with the Catalan government have not always been cordial, though a more formal relationship was reestablished under Aragonès with shared priorities like the Mediterranean corridor and funding. Earlier, during Puig’s tenure, ties were looser. The post-proces era opened a broader institutional visit to Valencia under Puig, with Carles Puigdemont at the helm and a long list of Catalan deputies, though later political tensions grew.