Miguel Martín Alonso I Mojácar (Almería), (EFE) , although their neighbors seem to know this reality long before.
In this town of some 7,500 inhabitants, practically no one wants to show their faces and publicly denounce this reality, but many privately insist that no one was unaware of a situation that took place in broad daylight at the door of the Post Office.
“During all this time there have been cars from all parties standing guard. They approached the people. I can no longer say what they proposed or not. But that they have been here permanently, yes”, one of the Post Office workers pointed out to EFE.
And in the town they also allude to a reality that has not been confirmed by any official source. That of the supposed rivalry between businessmen of the municipality and the mayoress, Rosa María Cano (PP). That although she does not repeat as head of the list, she does appear as number 2 of the popular candidacy.
The support of Minister Félix Bolaños
One of the two detainees, Francisco Bartolomé Flores, number two in the PSOE candidacy, is the son of a former mayor of Mojácar and former socialist senator, Bartolomé Flores, who runs a tobacconist’s shop in the municipality. And another detainee, Cristóbal Vizcaíno González, number five, has businesses related to the hospitality industry.
According to what some residents have told EFE, the different ordinances, regulations and initiatives promoted by the mayoress, who has had bitter confrontations in recent years with some restaurateurs in the area, could have provoked a reaction on the part of these presumed “affected” to organize and finance the alleged purchase of votes.
Although the PP governs with an absolute majority with 8 of the 13 councilors of the City Council, the PSOE hoped to change the results this year. And it has even had support such as that of the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, who last Thursday supported the socialist candidacy at a rally.
The general secretary of the PSOE of Mojácar, Manuel Zamora, who was one of the first supporters of the province when Pedro Sánchez was running for the PSOE general secretary, has assured EFE that what happened has been a “surprise” and he has disassociated himself completely. And he has even pointed out that he denounced last week alleged similar crimes by the PP and for an improper use of the electoral roll.
Between 100 and 250 euros per ballot
For much of his political career, Zamora has publicly denounced the alleged electoral irregularities by the PP. And already in the 2019 elections he submitted a brief to the Provincial Electoral Board. And he recalled that in the 2015 elections, 15.33% of the votes were by mail. Compared to between 2 and 3% of the general and regional ones.
Although one of these complaints led to the investigation of one of the councilors of the Government team, the mayoress has never had that condition. An operation like that of the Central Operating Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard had never been carried out in Mojácar before.
According to sources of the investigation have pointed out to EFE, the disjointed plot this Wednesday offered between 100 and 250 euros for each ballot in favor of the PSOE. Fundamentally to foreign people with limited resources.
In Mojácar there is no immigrant population linked to large volume agriculture as in other Almeria municipalities. But there is a significant number of Latinos who work in restaurant establishments. EFE