No demonstrations, no tents, no posters. There is nothing to indicate that there are upcoming municipal and regional elections. This is the atmosphere that exists in the smallest municipalities of the state of Alicante and where the campaign goes almost unnoticed., beyond some isolated attempts by local candidates to publicize their proposals. And this is despite the many needs in rural areas, especially those related to the general demand for more services and policies that go beyond municipal powers and serve to deal with the scourge of depopulation. They say hope is the last thing to lose, and so residents of these towns say they will exercise their voting rights once again next 28 May, confident that it will serve to meet their demands.
Different political entities are focusing their main electoral efforts on the largest cities where they know that large vote pools are concentrated. This supports the fact that the absence of prominent leaders of the parties is the dominant note in rural areas, except for some occasional visits. In a scenario where even traditional poster affixing is not done, local candidates, especially mayors, are not extravagant to mobilize the public.. Reason? Everyone in the villages knows each other, and after four years of close proximity to the administration run by their own municipality, they formed an idea of whom they should support.
Here are some examples. Tollos in the district of El Comtat is the smallest municipality in the state with barely 30 inhabitants. The mayor of the PP, Félix Frau, has been in charge of the council since 2011 and is running for re-election in these elections. “We don’t do events, posters or anything here on the one hand, because everyone knows who I am and communication is permanent. And on the other hand, because The other two lists, PSOE and Compromís’s, are made up of paratroopers, i.e. non-town people.», he emphasizes.
It is striking that the municipal administration is limited to serving residents and processing subsidies before the higher Administrations, so that projects can be carried out, especially of an urban nature, given the budgetary constraints. And on this, Frau said, «City Council usually doesn’t let us down. We have more difficulties with Generalitat because the terms are longer».
He confirms and underlines that the main problem they face is depopulation, “I don’t see a short-term solution. Tourism can add something with the introduction of Route 99, but the point here will be to encourage people to work on the land and stay in town.
The mayor of Famorca, Vicente Ruiz, and the mayor of El Comtat, the second smallest municipality with 48 people, expresses himself in similar terms. The minister, also a member of the PP, wants to renew his post after four years in office. “At least -he says- You have to spend eight years because the Administration is so slow that we could not realize half of the planned projects.».
There is no election campaign in the town either, because, as in Tollos, “the other candidates are from the outside, very white and bottled up. At most this Sunday At the end of Mass, I will have the opportunity to remind the neighbors that they must vote during the vermouth at the bar.».
The depopulation is what Ruiz has been keeping up with because “90% of residents are over 70 years old.” And as now he advocates providing services to attract people from abroad, and not vice versa. “The more frequent the doctor comes, the better we communicate, and the improved phone coverage,” he says.
Leonor Jiménez is the mayor and socialist candidate for re-election in Vall d’Ebo, a municipality with a population of just over 200 in Marina Alta, which became the epicenter of the devastating fire that devastated 12,000 hectares last summer. . «It was a real disaster, fortunately the Generalitat’s promised help is coming.despite the fact that the bureaucracy is quite complex,” he complains.
Although the future is complex as in all rural areas He believes that the imminent approval of the name of origin of perelló, a native fruit nestled between apples and pears, will encourage young people to not have to plant trees and seek a life outside of town.. He also thinks that improving healthcare is necessary, “because now the doctor only comes once or twice a week.”
So far, there has been no campaign in the town beyond the dissemination of the program by the Compromís candidacy, which is made up of young townspeople. “I couldn’t write the program because I had bronchitis and that didn’t give me time,” Jiménez says, but says he’ll be holding a presentation with José María Ángel, the regional secretary for Emergencies. has visited the municipality several times since the fire.
Despite the contrary, the mayor is pleased that the young people have finally decided to take the step of being a candidate, even though there is another candidacy. «We decided that if they win, I will help them at all costs, and vice versa.» he claims.
living place
Another municipality hit hard by the fire was Vall d’Alcalà, home to 160 people, in Marina Alta, headed by Pablo Martínez, also a socialist and third-term aspirant. As he explained, “The Department of Agriculture has taken the most urgent actions and is now waiting to see how natural regeneration evolves to see if it is necessary to intervene and reforestation.” He also underlines that help is coming to the fields that are in production.
He claims The main problem the town has right now is the lack of housing, which is a handicap for keeping the population as well as attracting new residents.. “We are in the process of approving the new General Plan so we can only grow what is necessary to meet the needs. It would also be very positive if we provide assistance for rehabilitation and have adequate public transportation.”
Regarding the campaign, he points out that this was not noticed at all. “He states that the only thing on our minds is to go home and hand out a brochure that tells us what has been done and what we want to do.”
Paco Picazo of Compromís is the mayor of the town of Quatretondeta, where 133 people live in El Comtat. The 78-year-old thinks it’s time to retire after serving two terms as Mayor at different stages. He confirms that the campaign stands out for now by its absence, and shares his counterparts’ concerns about depopulation. In his own words, “What you have to do is create working conditions for people to come here. We put fiber optics so that young people do not come out, but communication is still bad». According to Picazo, the ideas to solve the problem “must come from below, from us, who know the terrain best, not from above as it is now.”