In this 2022 Alicante Provincial Assembly celebrated its 200th anniversary and celebrated its bicentennial with different events, the last one being a gathering ceremony. One hundred mayors of the municipalities of Alicante. The night that closes a year full of events and activities, two centuries oldit also served to publicize the usefulness of the institution and to review some of the milestones that marked its history.
The current president of Diputación, Carlos Mazón, was responsible for presiding over the law. The institution is the biggest challenge they face at this point in the 21st century. depopulation, with 88 of the 141 towns in Alicante today population less than 10,000. In this sense, Mazón emphasized that the asset is “a plan against depopulation” through investments and subsidies.
Various commemorative events have been held throughout this year, such as the corporate action held in the gardens of the Provincial Palace, which Diputación claimed to be “more useful than ever”. Along the same lines, a meeting was held at Club INFORMACIÓN last November with the participation of Antonio Mira-Perceval and Mazón. They pondered the impact of the institution on Alicante’s life since democracy was restored.
Antonio Mira-Perceval He was the fifth head of the provincial organization in the democratic era, occupying the head of command from 1991 to 1995. population under 20,000, The existence of the Provincial General Assembly is indisputable..
During these 200 years, the Alicante institution had to face different challenges. In these past four years without further progress, Vega has faced the consequences of DANA affecting Baja, the fires that broke out this summer, the consequences of the pandemic or the war in Ukraine, resulting in soaring inflation and unprecedented energy. crisis.
But we must not forget that the entity has achieved this in the last decades. start big infrastructure for the state in areas such as health (Sant Joan d’Alacant and Orihuela hospitals) or culture (ADDA in Alicante). Likewise, the great singularity of Diputación lies in its ability to coexist with two types of municipalities, the majority of which are well differentiated, some with large populations and others without the autonomy to meet the needs of their neighbours. In the middle of this very special ecosystem, there is a Provincial General Assembly that can address all the sensitivities of the province correctly, without losing its essence, and identify the citizen with himself.
since 1822
The establishment of Provincial Councils in Spain dates back many years. 1812, when it was established in the Constitution of Cádiz, but its implementation was delayed due to events such as the War of Independence or the return to absolutism that later took place in the country, and each was organized on its own. Finally, Alicante State Council, in 1822, VII. It was opened during the Liberal Triennium, which momentarily ended with Fernando’s absolutism. The founding session was held in May at the City Hall.
He became the first president Francisco Fernandez Golf, colonel of the national armies, son of the IV Marqués de la Encomienda. He was appointed as the political head of Alicante and presided over the State Council during the installation on May 15, 1822, but was dismissed months later. Fernández was a liberal politician, his parliamentary life was busy and he formed part of several commissions. With the return of Fernando VII, absolutism was restored and he was sentenced to ten years in prison at the Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante as a member of Freemasonry under the pseudonym Baleris.
Years later, the need to construct a suitable building for the Provincial Assembly remained hidden and Manuel Gomez Valdivia He continued this idea when he assumed the presidency (1899-1901). On the initiative of the next president More More, the new palace was entrusted to architect Juan Vidal Ramos and was projected on the extension of Alfonso X el Sabio street (where the current station street is located). Construction began in 1929 and opened in 1931 with Franklin Albricias becoming the first president of the new palace.
107 presidents
Alicante Provincial Council, throughout its two centuries of history, 107 presidents and only one woman held this position Luisa Pastor. Before the dictatorship began, Ramón Llopis Agulló served as the institution’s president. He served as vice-president of the Provincial Assembly (Provincial Assembly) in September 1936 and chaired the assembly temporarily from 10 December until 22 March 1938, when he appeared as chairman in the minutes. In 1937 he was chairman of the Alicante People’s Antifascist Front. He was imprisoned in the Argelès-sur-Mer camp in exile and enrolled in a Workers’ Company after the German occupation. He managed to escape and go to Avellaneda (Argentina), where he lived until his death.
During this period from 1939 to 1975, the successive Various presidents in the Alicante institutionOne of them was José Martínez Alejos, the first president of the new regime’s Provincial Council, who served from 1939 to 1949. He is especially remembered as the organizer of the resumption of artistic exhibitions in the state after the war. He also sought to improve communication between some towns in Alicante, expand Benidorm’s urban area, and built the San Juan Psychiatric Hospital.
But the head of the institution in the last legislature under the regime of the Franco dictatorship Manuel Monzon Meseguer He was also mayor of Orihuela from 1966 to 1970, resigning in 1975. Alcoy vice-president and mayor, following his resignation Jorge Silvestre He assumed the post temporarily and was formally appointed as the first president of the democratic era in February 1976.
From 1978 to the present, the following people have held this position: José Cerdán, Luis Díaz Alperi, Antonio Fernández Valenzuela, Antonio Mira-Perceval, Julio de España, José Joaquín Ripoll, Luisa Pastor, César Sánchez and Carlos Mazón.