Judith Martínez Gámez, the Commercial Director of Madrid’s Hipódromo de la Zarzuela, submitted her resignation on Thursday following reports that connected her to meetings between former PSOE Organization Secretary Santos Cerdán and several business figures. Her resignation was confirmed this morning, as first reported by The Objective and later verified by El Debate. As of today, Martínez is no longer part of the staff at the public company, which is managed by SEPI under the Spanish Ministry of Finance.
The departure takes place following reports that Santos Cerdán—now in custody awaiting trial due to his suspected involvement in a significant corruption scandal linked to the PSOE—utilized a private dining area at La Cantina inside the Hipódromo to conduct confidential discussions with business figures. One of the recent gatherings included Ernesto Gasco, a former top advisor at Moncloa and an aide of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Both Gasco and Martínez had earlier been employed at the High Commissioner’s Office for the Battle Against Child Poverty.
Based on reports from insiders at the Hipódromo, this exclusive venue was frequently chosen by Cerdán as a gathering spot for its confidentiality, providing a setting free from political oversight—though it remained under the eye of investigators. The deep-seated connections both personally and professionally between Cerdán, Judith Martínez, and her partner, entrepreneur Óscar Arizcuren (formerly a UPN leader), have sparked concerns regarding possible conflicts of interest and leveraging public establishments for personal networking.
Cerdán and Arizcuren first met over a decade ago while serving in the regional Parliament of Navarra and have maintained a close relationship since. In 2023, both Ernesto Gasco and Judith Martínez transitioned from the High Commissioner’s Office to the leadership of the Hipódromo—Gasco as president, Martínez as commercial director. Martínez also brought in a close friend from Navarra to serve as her personal secretary.
Meanwhile, Arizcuren, a public servant at AENA, reportedly benefited from Cerdán’s political influence, allowing him to avoid remote assignments and retain a high-paying position in Madrid. In 2021, Cerdán allegedly played a key role in his appointment as Director of Institutional Relations and European Public Affairs at AENA, a position with a salary exceeding €120,000 per year. During that time, Arizcuren and Martínez moved into an upscale apartment near El Retiro Park, which also serves as the registered address of multiple private companies.
The controversy has sparked outrage from opposition parties. The Partido Popular (PP) has called for the immediate suspension of any severance or compensation to Cerdán following his imprisonment and demanded full transparency regarding the use of public facilities and politically motivated appointments.
The ongoing scandal keeps revealing a web of personal favors, institutional influence, and the inappropriate use of public resources, which is overshadowing the close associates of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
