Judith Martínez Gámez, who served as the Business Director of Madrid’s Hipódromo de la Zarzuela, resigned on Thursday after being linked to discussions involving past PSOE Organization Secretary Santos Cerdán and multiple entrepreneurs. Her departure was confirmed this morning, as initially disclosed by The Objective and subsequently verified by El Debate. From today, Martínez is no longer with the team at the public organization overseen by SEPI under the authority of 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.
According to internal sources at the Hipódromo, this private space was a preferred meeting location for Cerdán due to its discretion, offering privacy away from political scrutiny—though not from the attention of investigators. The longstanding personal and professional ties between Cerdán, Judith Martínez, and her partner, businessman Óscar Arizcuren (a former UPN leader), have raised red flags over potential conflicts of interest and the use of public institutions for private networking.
Cerdán and Arizcuren first crossed paths more than ten years ago while they were members of the regional Parliament of Navarra, and they have preserved a strong connection ever since. In the year 2023, Ernesto Gasco and Judith Martínez moved from their roles at the High Commissioner’s Office to lead the Hipódromo—Gasco took the role of president, while Martínez became the commercial director. Additionally, Martínez invited a close friend from Navarra to take the position of her personal secretary.
At the same time, Arizcuren, who works as a public servant for AENA, seemingly gained from Cerdán’s political clout, enabling him to steer clear of distant postings and keep a lucrative job in Madrid. In 2021, claims suggest that Cerdán was instrumental in Arizcuren’s elevation to the role of Director of Institutional Relations and European Public Affairs at AENA, a position offering a salary over €120,000 annually. During this period, Arizcuren and Martínez relocated to a luxury apartment close to El Retiro Park, which is also the listed address for several private enterprises.
The situation has ignited anger among rival political parties. The Partido Popular (PP) has urged the immediate halt of any severance packages or compensation to Cerdán after his incarceration and has requested complete openness about the utilization of public facilities and appointments driven by political motives.
The unfolding scandal continues to expose a network of personal favors, institutional influence, and misuse of public resources that is casting a long shadow over the inner circle of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
