For a lifetime. José Luis Seguí of Almudaina and Jaume Pascual of l’Alqueria d’Asnar, this is what they dedicate to their respective municipalities. They are the most senior mayors of the Valencian Community and, accordingly, the Province of Alicante, but there are nuances.. The first from the PP is also the longest serving person in Spain with at least 51 years of experience, the second from the PSOE has spent 44 years at the head of his City. Council, as much as the time since the first democratic elections. The news is that they both decided it was time to step back., because they will not participate in the next municipal elections. They leave behind a smattering of success, anecdotes, and sometimes problems, but it’s always been nothing more than a common goal, working hard to achieve the best for their neighbors.
“I’m proud of everything I’ve done and I’m leaving with the satisfaction of having done my duty.” This is how 82-year-old José Luis Seguí expresses himself. Recall that on February 13, 1972, still in Franco’s time, he became mayor, almost by force of events.. “The Falange Council at the time – he explains – decided to replace the mayor and they thought of me as a replacement, taking into account that I was recognized in the town as the head of the Agrarian Brotherhood”. It was not clear to him at all, but after initially revealing his reluctance, he was finally left with no choice but to accept it. “It was them back then,” he emphasizes.
So he took his staff of command and clung to it in a way he never let go. At first, as it is said, it was imposed, but later, with the advent of democracy, by his own decision and by the trust of the inhabitants of Almudaina in him, since then it won victories in every call for elections that it agreed with the extinct UCD and the Alianza Popular, and most recently with the PP..
The first project he undertook as soon as he bought the property was the construction of the road network; this was extremely necessary, considering that at that time the first tractors were starting to appear and there was no way to get around the terraces in the municipal area. .
Then came the water supply, at a time when trucks were being supplied to Cuba.and soon afterwards the new road that would connect Almudaina to Alfaquí brought the town out of isolation. To this we must add the construction of the existing town hall and the rehabilitation of the municipality’s Islamic tower, which is now a museum and has been turned into a major tourist attraction.
The stone in the shoe that continues to haunt him is the loss of the inhabitants.Considering that the town had 300 residents when he was mayor and is now barely over a hundred. “This is something that happens in most rural areas because of the cuts in services and the fact that once we start paying for education, children decide to find a life away from the city,” he says.
José Luis Seguí has now decided to hang up his boots, thanks to a PP nomination led by 26-year-old Pau Navarro, a group of young people who only include his 20-year-old grandson Adrián Seguí. I am very resident and left them a package of projects worth 400,000 euros which are about to be implemented. Very different from the 17,000 pesetas I found myself and disappeared when the plumber came to collect the bills owed to him.“, Don’t forget.
As a child, Jaume Pascual drank from the wisdom of his elders to devote himself to politics. “I remember that l’Alqueria was known as Little Russia back then, because there were a lot of people on the left. At my house on winter nights, men and women would gather by the fire and listen to them talk about freedom, equality, democracy and socialism, a word I’ve always carried with me ever since.
And under these beliefs He decided to submit his candidacy for the first democratic elections, becoming Spain’s youngest mayor at just 23 at the time.. And the premiere couldn’t be more demanding because she doesn’t hesitate to point out that her first period was terrible. “We had two impressive cold drops, and on top of that, the paper mill closed, not forgetting the most complicated day of my life, 23-F,” he recalls.
with everything, Worst of all was that of Papeleras Reunidas, who hired 400 people left on the street at the stroke of a pen., in what is a real social drama. In any case, this episode had a happy ending, as he explains: “Thanks to the involvement of industrialists like Rafael Pascual, Rafael Richart or Pascual Botella, and the Generalitat headed by Joan Lerma, the industry does not fall apart and eventually reopens. Paco Valor and Armando García The cooperation of trade unionists like Miralles was also important, and above all the dedication of the workers”.
Beyond the economic sphere, municipalism has undoubtedly experienced progress over all these years.Along with the improvement of basic services such as drinking water and sewerage networks, other interesting projects were added later, such as lighting replacement, underground garbage containers, a heated swimming pool and a music school.
And with that baggage, Jaume Pascual decided it was time to let go. “I do—he explains—satisfied with the work done and also Now I’m happy to have planted the good seed to have a socialist candidacy I couldn’t even imagine taking over.Anybody”. The board will be chaired by Andreu Ripoll, 38, who has served as deputy mayor during his current term and has thus gained experience in management.
The only pending challenge Pascual has left is that of the new school. “We were able to get two million euros in funding, but the procedures became a real ordeal. In any case, I hope to be able to put the works out to tender until the next elections,” he said.
Of his steadfast devotion to his people, Neither José Luis Seguí nor Jaume Pascual feel identified with current ways of doing politics.. The current mayor of Almudaina said, “I don’t like the tension that started this week with a no-confidence motion, which is a real farce. I am one of those who think that the speech has improved”. The mayor of l’Alqueria d’Asnar, who has a more political profile due to his years as a provincial deputy, said, “We are witnessing an immoral demonstration of those who have never believed in democracy. My final political illusion is that the diplomacy that Pedro Sánchez will soon take over the EU will serve to stop the war in Ukraine, because there are many people suffering from it, primarily a refugee family we have. he is from a town and lives thousands of kilometers away from his home”, he concludes.
Recognition of the Provincial Council as favorite sons
José Luis Seguí and Jaume Pascual are retiring after fulfilling their duties and at the same time being recognized by the Alicante Provincial Assembly, which has recently recognized them as the province’s favorite sons. In addition to the highest corporate representatives and mayors of the Alicante region as a whole, it has taken part in separate events held in each municipality many times over these years, attended by residents who trust them. administered by the respective municipalities. And that, beyond the ongoing projects, what they both value most is the appreciation of their compatriots for them.