The Almuñécar Town Council approved a motion to request before the Central and Regional Governments the category of Zona Catastrófica for Almuñécar.
The motion was put forward by the main, opposition party, Andalusian convergence (Juan Carlos Benavides).
The general lack of water, the salt-water intrusion in the water table and the “unjustifiable” delay” for finishing the distribution system for Rules Reservoir were cited as justification for requesting the disaster zone category.
The Mayor, Juanjo Ruiz Joya, said that he could not be of more accord with the motion put before the Town Council, and suggested that his coalition partners (More Almunecar and citizens) should also vote in favour, which they did.
In fact, the PSOE socialist party also backed the motion yet, strangely IU-We can decided to abstain.
The Councillor for the Environment, Luis Aragón, stated, “the governing coalition is always going to back our farmers, as we have done since the beginning.”
He concluded by saying that Almuñécar’s being considered a disaster zone is not the solution to the town’s water shortages but it would “make the situation in which we find ourselves more bearable.”
Editorial comment: taken within the context of the looming municipal elections, local parties need to take a ‘local stand’ against their corresponding parties in higher administrations, thus the Mayor, who is PP, must show himself to be more concerned for the town than for the Junta, where his party rules. Similarly, the PSOE socialists must do the same against the Central Government where their party is in power.
Benavides, is a different kettle of fish, because his party does not hold any higher administrative position so his stance is purely local, so putting forward this motion was about putting the squeeze on the two other parties. Quite what possessed the far-left IU Podemos to abstain is a mystery. Perhaps, after marching lock step with their ideological adversaries (The PP) for the last eight years, they thought that this would be a show of independence?
(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)