The agreements by which Jose Manuel Fernandez «PP» took the mayor’s office, after signing a pact with the group led by Agustín Vargas (IU), have not even lasted two years. The pact cost them expulsion from Izquierda Unida itself for not following the directives set by their own party at provincial level. The agreement did not amount to a majority, since the winner of the elections, Compromiso Manilva, took 5 councillors against the Partido Popular’s 4, Izquierda Unida’s 4, PSOE’s 3 and 1 for VOX. VOX, which was in fact the party with the fewest votes, was the one that decided to back Fernandez’s investiture after signing an agreement with three points: the reduction of the fee for the use of public roads, an increase in the number of Local Police officers in the town and an external audit of the Town Hall’s accounts.
Antonio Marín, leader of VOX in the municipality, has stood firm from the outset and at the latest council meetings put Fernandez on the ropes: «either the audit of the Town Hall’s accounts begins or we will not support any budget», Marín warned.
Compromiso Manilva, by contrast, attended the latest council meetings in a much more moderate and conciliatory tone than at the start of Fernandez’s term, when accusations and reproaches dominated every council meeting. This change of attitude could be the result of the start of the new negotiations that we now know about, after several weeks of rumours that have spread like wildfire across the municipality.
According to information obtained by this newsroom, Compromiso Manilva is joining the governing team at the expense of Izquierda Unida, whose portfolios Fernandez is cutting to the bare minimum so that Compromiso councillors Marcos Ruiz, Laura Salazar and Pilar Zúñiga can take on certain important areas in the Town Hall. For this agreement to go ahead, Mario Jimenez, leader of Compromiso, has had to step back and although he will keep his seat as councillor, he will not be part of the governing team.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Town Hall will announce the final distribution of portfolios, in which, we can reveal, there will be important changes, such as the Finance department, which will pass to Noelia Muñoz so that the 2025 budget can be launched, or the Public Works department, which Marcos Ruiz will take over.
