Over the past four and a half years, the Valencian Community Business Confederation (CEV) in Alicante has managed to achieve milestones that once seemed out of reach. Yet, despite tangible gains, the organization led by Salvador Navarro appears far from having unlocked a final solution for the province. The occasional uprisings among the three presidents who have steered the former Coepa era during this stretch serve as reminders that residual tensions persist. The latest turn came this Monday with the dismissal of Juan José Sellés from his post as CEV Vice President, a move that leaves Sellés positioned to capitalize on a moment of perceived weakness within the CEV while the region faces strategic questions. Among these, efforts to relocate or request a stop for the AVE to Chamartín stand out as emblematic issues shaping the business agenda in Valencia’s shadowed influence, as does the establishment of the State Agency for Supervision of Artificial Agency in Alicante. These two developments illustrate the broader pattern: once major industry groups have integrated into the CEV, there is a growing perception in the province that much of the value creation has already occurred, and that any dissent is treated as a quarrel rather than a substantive challenge. The capacity of CEV Alicante’s leadership, including president Joaquín Pérez, to pinpoint significant gaps remains a critical feature of the landscape, even when questions about the provincial leadership’s independence have flared in the past, such as during Carlos Mazón’s push to anchor the headquarters of an Artificial Intelligence initiative within an employers’ association that some viewed as lacking sufficient autonomy. Coupled with a lingering sense that Valencia acts as a guiding force, these dynamics reveal the underlying weaknesses Sellés has attempted to exploit, albeit while speaking for himself and a narrow circle. In this context, it seems prudent for the CEV itself to reflect on the ongoing situation as closely as it watches Uepal, rather than assuming that internal friction is merely a temporary episode or a routine disagreement. The overall trajectory suggests that leadership, regional strategy, and the balance of autonomy versus centralized guidance will continue to define Alicante’s business climate for the foreseeable future, shaping how industries collaborate, how regional priorities are set, and how the prospect of greater self-determination for the province is perceived within the broader economic ecosystem.
