“Join me any day: go buy bread, stop at the pharmacy, return a book to the library. What could go wrong? I have the law on my side, right? With this very direct and simple invitation, Jose Raul Pérez CorderoFrom Asim … Castilla-La Mancha broke the silence of the public hall of the Monastery of San Gil, in Toledo, in the residence of Cortes of Castilla-La Mancha. What followed was a raw story of everyday reality: impossible restrictions, sidewalks blocked by street lights, construction sites with no alternate routes, doors that wouldn’t open, an elevator that had been down for weeks, and a parking spot occupied by someone who shouldn’t be. And a harsh conclusion: “Any day that a disabled person goes through is like this. “We are living in a difficult situation.”
During the celebration, Serme’s social plenary session was held on the occasion of the International and European Day of Persons with Disabilities, but what resonated in the room were not political battles and solemn speeches, but life. Life collides every morning with barriers prohibited by law, but reality preserves them. A life that requires empathy, political will and access that do not remain on paper.
In Cortes Castilla-La Mancha, on Monday, they spoke about human rights, about not going backwards, and about the urgent need for a new law on accessibility. But above all, it was heard. Isabel, Beatriza, Luis, Alberto, Alfonso, Francisco, Rocío, Abigail, Maria… and an emotional Marcelino, who acknowledged the symbolic burden of being able to speak “from above”, from that platform that has been inaccessible for so many years: “It brings us closer to being ordinary people.”
The plenary session, whose slogan was “Universal accessibility as a fundamental right for inclusion,” brought together representatives of all parliamentary groups – PSOE, PP and Vox – and became a direct spokesman for the social movement of people with disabilities in Castilla-La Mancha.
The president of the Cortes, Pablo Bellido, opened the session, claiming that this social plenary session existed “To make it visible and give voice and learning.” He pointed to the progress made since 2019 — readability of laws, renovation of the public hall, magnetic rings, air conditioning of elevators, sign language interpreters — but acknowledged that “there are still things to do.”
Among the measures announced: translation of all plenary sessions, so that deaf non-signers can also follow parliamentary activity and a model of the Saint-Gilles building, in cooperation with the ONCE group, so that blind people can see and enjoy the seat of Parliament.
Family photo after the plenary session
Throughout the event, people with disabilities revealed barriers that affect their independence and participation in society: the impossibility of understanding their doctor if there is no communication support, the lack of subtitles in the cinema, traffic lights whose color they cannot determine, sidewalks infested with obstructions, inaccessible means of transportation, difficulties in getting to work, construction works that cut off roads with no alternative routes, or public elevators that have been “idle for weeks.” Each intervention added a piece to the same puzzle: universal accessibility remains an unresolved issue.
The president of Cerme Castilla-La Mancha, Cristina Gomez Palomo, issued one of the toughest and most relatable messages: “We will not allow the dilution of rights that cost blood, sweat and tears like sugar in coffee. It is not enough that they are in the law. “We have to defend them every day.” He also called for a Europe with more “social spirit” and asked Castilla-La Mancha to “pull the wagon” so that future accessibility law is ambitious, demanding and binding.
A pioneering law in progress
Accessibility Commissioner, Jose Luis Escudero He advocated that the new regional law should guarantee equal opportunities “whether a person lives in a rural or urban environment,” with or without temporary or permanent restrictions. In the same vein, the Director General of People with Disabilities, A. Francisco Armenta, RShe summarized the philosophy guiding the work of the executive branch: “Accessibility is the condition that allows other rights to become a reality.”
Serme Castilla-La Mancha noted that universal accessibility must stop being a “deferred promise” and become a commitment that can be supervised with resources. He called for European funds to condition their grants on strict compliance with the rights of persons with disabilities.
This event is part of the State Sermi manifesto “40 years of Spain in the EU: without the social dimension there is no Europe”. The social plenary left a clear lesson: as long as a person cannot open the door of his city library, or wander along the road because the sidewalk is impassable, or depend on someone serving him from the window because a step blocks him, equality is not real. The story of Jose Raul – wandering around his city, Puebla de Montalban, Which ends with an empty chair, an unnecessarily busy courtyard, and a car that cannot approach the library – it was not an isolated case: it is an everyday experience for thousands of people. Today, at least, this word is heard in the headquarters where the laws are made.