Bilbao, which has been presented as an innovation model, has been vibrating in recent times. What has been the cause of this earthquake? Does the mud feet have the myth of the new Bilbao? Concern has spread both among the citizens and among the rulers and questions have been launched that have not yet been answered. It is well known that in order to correct the answers, it is essential to first ask the appropriate questions.

It all happened unconsciously: on 23 December, early in the morning, the zornotzarra Ibon Urrengoetxea died on the same Arenal Bridge because of an alleged assault by robbery; shortly thereafter, at the door of Abando station, a young man was brutally attacked and lost an eye; on 18 January, at last, the alleged woman in the Otxarkoaga neighborhood could not turn. All those arrested for these acts are young people between the ages of 14 and 16, too young to be charged with criminal responsibility. That is what has triggered the long rope, especially when it comes to events of this kind, which immediately proclaim the need for punishment because their thirst has been found insatiable. What to do then?If not for the sake of grief, how to respond to these grave facts? Are we safe in Bilbao? Will more police be needed? But why multiply the police when it was already very large?

This is where the concern arises, because the renewed model of Bilbao has been called into question, so often praised by the authorities and apologists in recent years. At this point, therefore, it is the starting point for sending real questions. Beyond the obvious success factors of this new Bilbao, do you have any problems? Who, how and why are they excluded and marginalized from this model? Is this model of the new Bilbao well focused? Can these problems be corrected without a profound change in the model itself, or, on the contrary, should we give another direction to the future democratic city?

Yes, it is convenient to ask these questions, but you cannot think that the answers are simple and immediate. But to continue along the right path, it may be a help that is not drunk with the magic of prizes and praise, but with a little more depth in the trajectory of Bilbao.

The protein character of Bilbao is there: how many times it has been renewed throughout the history of being a town of fishermen and boats, a village of merchants and craftsmen; a super-developed industrial complex that now wants to be a metropolis of tourism and services that has recovered from decay; in each case the centers and peripheries of the city have also been transformed, but creating margins and margins in all the corners of today; what are they? What characteristics do they have? Does this global model, which in the name of universality is brilliantly shown in London, Shanghai or Berlin, satisfy the local and even Basque population of Bilbao? You see them?

When former Mayor Iñaki Azkuna wanted to bring the image of Bilbao to the international exhibition in Shanghai, he chose a big picture: The surroundings of Abandoibar-Guggenheim stood out above all on the canvas of the entire city. The constructions were modern, but there was not a single living being in that painting.

Bilbao is in the Post-Azkuna era. As for things, it seemed to us that the current mayor was doing in recent months the same model and the same form of communication as Azkuna, who was trying to reinvent the Azkuna style… until the whirlwind of recent events broke. Now the open questions are there, who answers them.