mayoral candidates villena: Fulgencio Cerdan for PSOE; Miguel Ángel Salguero for PP and Francisco Iniesta for European Greens demonstrated in the election debate organized by INFORMATION and TV Information agreements on the city’s strategic issues: protection of aquifers, support of the agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors, control of the implementation of photovoltaic power plants, development of the dry port of the Mediterranean Corridor and implementation of the Logistics Operations Zone in the bullilla industrial zone.
In a quiet meeting where the main inconsistency was the municipal management model criticized by the PP and defended by the government partners of PSOE and Verdes, the main topic of the economic bloc focused on the overexploitation of the Villena aquifers. For Miguel Ángel Salguero, it is necessary to avoid that the farmers and waterers of Alto Vinalopó are the ones most affected by this situation. «For over a century they have been very generous by sending water to the shores of Alicante, to Medio and Baix Vinalopó, and they were not exactly the ones who created the current situation». Therefore, he thinks it is essential that they “not have to bear the burden of replacing water that is no longer extracted from wells by other means”, such as desalination or Júcar-Vinalopó transfer streams.
closure of water wells
Along the same lines, the mayor and mayor, Fulgencio Cerdán, said, “The water is constantly being drawn without any advantage of the municipality. So, Villena farmers don’t have to see this measure hurt them, and before they stop drawing water from wells to irrigate local crops, currents need to come to replace them,” he said while mediating with the City Council when the local PP wanted to make a proposal against closing the polls. “This motion was not brought up by Villena’s PP in the early days and it was a victory for the whole city, which we all have to thank”stressed the socialist candidate.
The green group thinks that the political diversity in a coalition government is enriched even as differences arise.
In this regard, Francisco Iniesta, one of the most relevant of the last two mandates, considers it unfair to treat everyone equally by shutting down wells instructed by the Ministry. In your opinion, the load should be fair and proportionate: “Either a cheaper price for water is applied in Villena or the water resources are regulated in such a way that some areas are not equally limited to others”. In any case, he stressed in his speech that “the three parties go hand in hand with the irrigators to defend the interests of Villena, its agriculture and the entire region”.
dry port of the Mediterranean Corridor
On the agreed commitment PSOE, PP and European Greens Due to the implementation of the dry port and logistics node, the mayoral candidates are bringing the ranks closer. The city provides the best housing conditions for the three of them—Novelda also works—but they agree not to neglect trade and industry. While Cerdán advocated a change in the production model with a land port and logistics, Iniesta said, “The claim is not just tied to this project because Villena has local trade and small businesses, and it will be the perfect combination to improve our economy and employment.” node knot as major challenges as there are already multinational companies involved. «Children’s shoes were very important in the municipality and there are still quality companies. However, we must continue to move towards an industry that is already very diverse. agriculture sector which is so powerful and we have to continue to pamper it like the open mall that is a cornerstone.”
The PSOE values the degree of consensus between the government and the opposition on the challenges Villena is facing.
In this sense, Iniesta valued the work of the economic development cabinet and for Salguero the Logistics Operations Zone should complement the remaining sectors of the local economy. «To achieve long-term results, you must have a strategy based on a development and economic promotion plan and a political agreement. and if we can reach major meeting points there. But in Villena, bags of land are needed for small and medium-sized companies. We also have a lot of talent, but we should encourage them to guide entrepreneurs,” he said.
municipal licenses
Licensing delays were another issue raised during the discussion. The mayor acknowledged that there was a major traffic jam with some licenses unresolved for 25 years and assured him that he had recovered greatly as there were now seven traffic jams a month and ten had been evacuated.
A series of projects to implement photovoltaic plants in Villena also clearly demonstrated the consensus between PSOE, PP and the European Greens, with nuances.
photovoltaic plants
Only 12 out of 34 projects for solar installations submitted to the City Council are in progress. “And it happened because the Urban Planning and Environment departments put an end to all this nonsense. We are in favor of removing the license, but not in a rude way, but selectively if the landscape will be damaged,” Cerdán replied. “I am surprised and happy that the mayor has agreed to suspend the licenses. in some cases, voted against a proposal by the PP and the Greens to change the partial plan for this purpose at the plenary meeting a month ago.
For the popular candidate, there should be a unanimous mayoral position as it is an issue affecting the district. “It’s something we’ve been trying for two years and even though we all seem to be getting closer in the election…we’ll see what happens next.” On this question, Iniesta thinks “the house started with the roof”. According to him, “city assemblies need to have the authority to regulate the territory and decide on the implementation of these mega solar power plants, because reality shows us that the measures of the Generalitat decree have disappeared, and in the end, it gave the green light to many plants. It also gave negative reports that the ministry ignored to give approval to the project. In any case, for Salguero it is a problem of origin. “It should help municipalities because their legal tools in these cases are very limited” Generalitat.
Municipalization of services without the necessary guarantees is the red line that the People’s Party cannot cross.
government agreements
And reaching the government deals bloc, the PSOE is open to forming the necessary majorities, or even large majorities, to accommodate other leftist initiatives. “The green group has already agreed on other occasions, and we understand that absolute majorities are never entirely good.. Our intention is to realize agreements that consist of concrete projects according to the city model to be developed, no longer numerical, regardless of the outcome,” he said.
Although we are ideologically distant from the PP, we are an independent and environmental party, and the important thing is to agree on issues that are beneficial for Villena,” Salguero said. when center and right vote split into several options, the result was left rule ». According to Fulgencio Cerdán, it is a left that believes everything can be discussed and negotiated and also trusts the right to sign certain agreements. “In Villena, fortunately, there was no animosity between the government and the opposition, and when it was necessary to bend the arm of the opposition, it was done,” the PSOE candidate said, ending a tripartite debate where it made sense. prevailed. Partnership and respect for differing views.