Maria Alonso |
Madrid (EFE).- Twenty-two towns in Spain, several of them in Castilla-La Mancha, have only had one mayor in the forty-four years since the first democratic municipal elections were held in 1979.
Some were already councilors during the dictatorship and most of them will run again in the elections on May 28, so if they win and finish the legislature, they will serve nearly half a century in office.
These are ten of the most veteran mayors who aspire to win the elections again:
Senén Pousa, Beade (Ourense)
The mayor of the small municipality of Beade, Senén Pousa, 83, is one of the longest serving, having been a councilor since before the 1979 elections.
Pousa, who since the first elections has always won by an absolute majority, has been the subject of some controversies, mainly for having “Face to the Sun” as a ringtone on his mobile phone and for celebrating masses every November 20 in honor of Franco.
After the decision of his party, the PP, to put another mayor at the head of the candidacy, Pousa has decided to run as an independent in the elections on May 28 and may resume the masses.
Ignacio Gordon, Matillas (Castilla-La Mancha)
Ignacio Gordón, 82 years old and mayor of Matillas, has also held the baton since the dictatorship. Specifically, since 1973.
As he has assured EFE, he is still strong enough to continue as mayor on the PP lists, although he acknowledges that there are times when he “loses the desire” and that he does not know if, in the case of winning the elections again, the four-year term will expire.
“Even if you are excited, at this age everything becomes more uphill,” he commented.
Salvador Perez, Villaroya (La Rioja)
The mayor of Villaroya, Salvador Pérez (PP), can celebrate half a century at the head of this town hall if he wins the elections on May 28, although he is convinced that he will revalidate the mandate because a PSOE list led by “someone” is also present. who is not from the town, which has seven inhabitants.
Pérez, 76, has pointed out that Villarroya is “very well, with the houses taken care of, the streets in good condition and the municipal services in good working order”, for which he feels “proud” that these achievements have been achieved with him as mayor.
Manuel Murciano, Moscardón (Aragon)
At 80, Manuel Murciano repeats as a candidate for mayor of Moscardón with the same enthusiasm as when he started, although, according to EFE, he now has “much more experience.”
Murciano (Aragonese Party) defends the right of older people to have “illusion” and comments that he feels “very proud” of his neighbors for the support they have given him these 44 years.
Pere Moradell, Torroella de Fluviá (Girona)
The hardest time that the councilor of Torroella de Fluvià, Pere Moradell (PSC), remembers in the almost 45 years he has been in charge, is “the high point of the process”.
As the 71-year-old mayor told EFE, “it was difficult to endure being a socialist,” since he received “attacks from various fronts” for “national issues.”
Moradell will run again in the 2023 elections because “he likes to work for his people.”
Luis Partida, Villanueva de la Cañada (Madrid)
At the age of 76, Luis Manuel Partida is once again a PP candidate for mayor of Villanueva de la Cañada, where he has always managed to govern with an absolute majority.
In these 44 years, the town has gone from having just over a thousand inhabitants to the current 24,000, which has significantly complicated the management of a municipality that is even home to two universities.
Carlos Rivera, Torremocha de Jarama (Madrid)
The mayor of Torremocha de Jarama, Carlos Rivera, has confirmed to EFE that he will run again as a candidate for his independent group, with which, like Partida, he has won with an absolute majority all these years.
According to Rivera, in these 44 years this municipality of 1,135 inhabitants “has changed a lot” and his latest challenge is to avoid cuts in the Internet connection.
Evaristo Dominguez, Meruelo (Cantabria)
The mayor of the Cantabrian town of Meruelo, Evaristo Domínguez, assumes that the elections on May 28 will be “the beginning of the end” for his political leadership. He also believes that this will happen with Francisco Asón, the other oldest mayor of Cantabria.
“The greatest satisfaction is to have been able to help the neighbors and to be recognized on the street for that work,” said both Domínguez (75 years old) and Asón (72) in an interview with EFE.
Domínguez, who has always won by an absolute majority, headed the Meruelo Independent Association in 1979 and in the following elections the project hatched into the Popular Alliance to later lead the PP in his municipality.
Francisco Asón, Ribamontán al Mar (Cantabria)
Francisco Asón appears at 28M after estimating that the last legislature was “atypical” due to the pandemic, a fact that prevented him from materializing projects of interest in Ribamontán al Mar, although he assures that he intends to complete them during the next legislature.
Asón made his debut in the 1979 elections with UCD, then ran on a list as an independent to later become one of the strong pieces of the Regionalist Party of Cantabria.
Arturo Calvo de Inés, Villaseco de los Reyes (Castilla y León)
Arturo Calvo (PP), 90, has explained to EFE that he is running for the elections again because “he feels like it for the good of the people” and so that he has all the necessary services “in harmony and peace.”
“I am very satisfied with the PP,” says Calvo, who proudly recalls that he was a member of the Popular Alliance founded by Manuel Fraga and that he ate with him on several occasions during his visits to the province of Salamanca.
Historical of Castilla-La Mancha who retire
In the province of Guadalajara, in addition, there is another of the ‘veteran’ mayors of the country. This is Mauricio Martínez, mayor of Valdarachas, who at 90 years of age, will not run for re-election on May 28, thus closing a period of half a century as an example of public service in which he has had the endorsement of his neighbors .
Martínez proudly recalled a year ago in an interview with EFE that the first thing he did when he arrived was “put running water into the houses” in a municipality that has lost half its population in this time.
“I have done everything. I have built the cemetery, streets have been paved, the lighting network” and a long etcetera, although he affirms that there are always things to do, but someone else will be in charge of it because he will not stand for re-election after eleven consecutive terms in which which has received the majority support of its neighbors.
There will also be a new mayor in Montealegre del Castillo (Albacete)
In addition, in Montealegre del Castillo (Albacete), for the first time in more than half a century, Sinforiano Montes, who was its mayor until a few months ago, will not run as a PP candidate.
Thus, the Popular Party will have in Abilio Vizcaíno its new candidate for mayor after more than 50 years competing with Sinforiano Montes, who was mayor for 53 and left office a few months ago for health reasons and was replaced by Dolores Almarcha.
Montes was the only mayor of the province of Albacete who had remained in office since the constitution of the democratic Town Halls, in 1979.
Vizcaíno, a furniture businessman in Montealegre del Castillo, has been “very excited” about the new responsibility and willing to “listen to the wise advice of the one who has been mayor for so long.”