Alicante/València/Castelló, June 17 (EFE).- The PP, through the new mayoress of Valencia, María José Catalá, the new mayor of Elche, Pablo Ruz, and the new mayoress of Castelló, Begoña Carrasco, has recovered the command rod of the main cities of the Valencian Community after Luis Barcala in Alicante was the only popular mayor in the last legislature.
The PP has collected the different command rods from the four main cities of the Community, Valencia, Alicante, Elche and Castellón, and also in Benidorm, Torrevieja, San Vicent del Raspeig or Paterna, while Gandia, Alcoi and Elda are the main socialist bastions, agreeing in all of them with Compromís or forces of the left.
As of today, the popular ones govern 230 municipalities in the Valencian Community: in the province of Valencia in 95 municipalities, in that of Castellón in 68 plus a smaller entity and in Alicante in 66.
Puig in Gandia and Mazón in Valencia
The acting president of the Generalitat has come to Gandia to support the investiture of José Manuel Prieto, who has taken over with the favorable votes of PSOE (12) and Compromís Més Gandia Unida (2). A plenary session in which the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, was also present.
María José Catalá and Begoña Carrasco made their debut in office in the cities of Valencia and Castelló respectively, both leaving behind left-wing coalition governments and both also in the minority after failing to reach agreements with Vox.
It has been different for Luis Barcala, who has been re-elected today as mayor in his third term as councilor of Alicante, and has done so with the vote in favor of the 14 councilors of his formation, with whom he will govern alone during this legislature in the Alicante city, which this year has become the tenth most populous municipality in Spain.
The PP governs in Elche with the support of Vox
It has also meant the first time for the new Elche mayor, Pablo Ruz (PP), who after an agreement with Vox takes over from the socialist Carlos González, who had been in charge of the Elche city council for two legislatures, the third largest in population in the Valencian Community.
Ruz thus turns around in a traditionally socialist city that has been governed by the PSOE in 40 of the last 44 years -with the only impasse of Mercedes Alonso (PP) between 2011 and 2015- and becomes the seventh councilor of the democracy.
There has also been a moment of curiosities, such as the one that has occurred in the Valencian municipality of Alcàsser, where the day of constitution of the city council has taken place at 08:00, the earliest morning in the Community, to give time to the councilor of the PP, Ramón Llacer, to attend his own wedding, whose date was set two years ago.
The political formation Vox has achieved its first mayoralty in the Valencian Community this Saturday with the election of its candidate, Iván Expósito, in the municipality of Náquera (Valencia), where it will govern with the Popular Party.
Another pact with Vox has given the mayoralty to the PP in Torrent, where the popular Amparo Folgado has replaced the socialist Jesús Ros in office.
In Orihuela, PP and Vox have agreed and Pepe Vegara has been elected mayor and the new government will create a Department of Family and will eliminate the Department of Social Welfare, LGTBI Equality and Rural Development, which will be renamed Department of Social Welfare.
A Vox mayor gives the mayoralty to his sister in Loriguilla
One of the most controversial cases has occurred in Loriguilla, where Montse Cervera, a candidate for the new UCIN party, has been elected mayor after receiving the support of the PSPV and Vox, whose mayor, José Javier Cervera -and brother of the mayor- , has been accused by his party of concocting a “false plot” and has been reprimanded and filed since “he had an express order” to support the PP, the most voted candidacy.
In Castellón there will be alternation of mayors in Oropesa del Mar after an agreement made at the last moment between PP, Ciudadanos and Vox. In this way, Araceli de Moya, from Ciudadanos, will be mayor during the first two years of the legislature and the popular Rafael Alberto will occupy the position for the last two.
In Vinaròs there has been another last-minute mayoralty since Vox with its vote has not supported the pact between the independents of PVI and the PP and by voting for itself it has made it possible for the socialist mayor, Guillem Alsina, to remain.
The mayoralty of Benicarló has also been decided late and the popular Juanma Cerdá has been sworn in as mayor as the pact between the PSPV, Compromís and an independent party did not materialize.