The Partido Popular will hold a campaign event in Manilva this Thursday, 14 May, in the format of a «rally and communal paella«, at a gathering scheduled for 13:00 at the Walili Beach beach bar, which will feature several prominent leaders of the Andalusian and provincial PP.
The event poster lists the Andalusian regional government’s Minister for Economy, Finance and European Funds, Carolina España, who is number two for Málaga alongside Juanma Moreno; the secretary general of the Málaga PP and Andalusian MP José Ramón Carmona, who is number 3 on the lists for the province, known politically as «Jota Carmona»; the mayor of Torremolinos, Marga del Cid; and the PP leader in Manilva, José Manuel Fernández.
The event is part of the intense political agenda ahead of next Sunday’s election in Andalusia, although in Manilva the visit inevitably comes against the backdrop of the debate on the street over the promised second secondary school in the municipality, a long-standing demand of the education community that still shows no visible progress despite the announcements made by Carolina España herself two years ago.
Carolina España and her announcement of the second secondary school
Carolina España takes on particular prominence in this visit, as it was she who officially announced in November 2023 that the Andalusian 2024 budget would include funding for the construction of the new secondary school in Manilva, and to date its official processing has not begun, as the AMPAS (parents’ associations) have been reporting.
During that budget presentation in Málaga, the minister said that part of the almost 69 million euros earmarked for educational infrastructure in the province would go towards driving forward projects such as the new IES in Manilva and a school in Casares. España even went so far as to say that those accounts were beginning to «do justice» to Málaga in terms of educational investment.
The current situation, reported by municipal representatives as well as by families and the education community, is very different from what was announced then: as of today there is no known public tender, no definitive technical project has emerged, and there is officially no administrative file that would show the real start of the works.
This gap between the political announcement and the administrative reality has fuelled resentment among residents in recent months, along with criticism from those who consider that the project has become a series of broken promises and a lack of political will to «do justice» to Manilva.
Discontent over the lack of response from the Education Delegation
Another focus of criticism is aimed at the Provincial Education Delegation in Málaga, and especially at its head, Miguel Ángel Briones of the PP.
According to local public representatives, up to 13 meetings were requested over the past year to try to unblock the situation of the new school and also to address the urgent needs of the current one, without those requests receiving an effective response. Mr Briones only agreed to meet at his office in Málaga with the president of the AMPA of IES las Viñas and its current headteacher, in order to continue the false promises, as he claimed that repair works on the current school would begin this month, something that, for the moment, has not happened either.
The feeling that the regional administration is «stalling» has increased the strain and the lack of trust among families.
A political event, but with some hope
This PP political event in Manilva comes at a particularly sensitive time, following the latest protests and the complaint made a few days ago by the Partido Popular itself against Manilva Town Hall and its own mayor, over the announcement in official media of the demonstration organised by the AMPAS to travel to Málaga, and the announcement that a coach would be made available to families, which was ultimately paid for by a local company. For families, the event is an opportunity to demand explanations and specific dates for a project they regard as a priority given the municipality’s population growth and the existing overcrowding in schools.
The visit of the Partido Popular’s top figures in Málaga is seen as a ray of hope among the education community, although scepticism also persists. With just three days to go until a new Andalusian election, some families consulted consider that the presence of regional leaders could be a vote-winning strategy through new announcements rather than a real will to immediately carry out the commitments made.
Thursday’s event will serve to gauge how far the Partido Popular is willing to set out timescales and real commitments on one of Manilva’s main educational demands.
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