Carlos Bernabé is a psychologist and educational consultant, reiterating Cambiemos’s candidacy for Mayor of Orihuela, presenting himself as “the only force that dares to question the urban and economic model burdening the municipality and propose alternatives”. The party’s campaign focused on heritage, urban planning and a healthy City Council in the belief to lead the government so that the same policies as always are not repeated under the PP-Cs and PSOE-Cs pairings.
QUESTION: Disappointment and stagnation at the drift of PP-Cs that have not been corrected in the past year after the reprimand. Does Cambiemos regret reaching a deal with PSOE?
REPLY: Regret would have made sense if the alternative to the deal—PP and Cs continued to rule—was better, but it didn’t. For Orihuela, the emotion is disappointment, not regret, as an opportunity is missed to hope for a more ambitious change. One of the reasons for supporting the no-confidence motion was that Ms. Gracia became more armored by only being able to sign one with authority, and she had room to maneuver to stop or even stop the C’s and relied on Cambiemos to implement progressive policies. even in the minority. But unfortunately he chose the opposite, joined his party with Cs and continued the same city and economic policies as always. The emotion is disappointment, but it also clears perspective: the only progressive alternative for Orihuela is to move forward and not repeat this scenario. For this, Cambiemos Orihuela must be able to lead the government.
“Gracia chose to join her party Cs and give continuity to the same urban and economic policies as always”
Q: Should they have requested to join the government team so that Carolina Gracia would not fall into the hands of the Ciudadanos?
A: With the current correlation of forces in the City Council and the consistently submissive attitude of both the PP and Ms. Gracia’s PSOE before the Cs, it would be a mistake to enter government. That would mean having assemblies with no budget or room for manoeuvre, or being complicit in perverse decisions in urban planning or contracting. It would also mean being a counterweight to the government, making constructive opposition, and losing the autonomy to follow the PPs and/or C’s, which is what we’ve been doing in 8 years. We don’t want power for power, we want to govern Orihuela to change and improve, and that requires consistent government. This was not it.
“Getting into government would be a mistake, it would mean having councilors without a budget, or being involved in perverse decisions in town planning or contracting.”
Q: What did it mean to have two advisors from Cambiemos?
A: In most municipalities the size of Orihuela, opposition groups have technical resources. In Orihuela, it’s the opposite. What the PPs and Cs have done since 2015 was raise government salaries (a lot) and make the opposition more unstable. These policies cause the opposition to have less time and resources to act as a counterbalance and alternative to power and represent an institutional anomaly. After the no-confidence motion, we wanted a new big deal that puts moderate (and normal people-like) salaries to the government and the opposition and assigns technical staff to all groups. But we did not have the power to impose that path. In any event, Cambiemos’ reliance on technical personnel has served to improve, among other things, some work of the Sports, Environment or Participation Departments; making suggestions on economic matters (unfulfilled) or dedicating time and resources for Cambiemos to continue the fight against more than questionable decisions in the urbanization of Cala Mosca or in contracting.
“Having the technical resources has helped Cambiemos continue to fight back against more than questionable decisions in the urbanization of Cala Mosca or the contracting space”
Q: You advocated transformative progress led by Cambiemos and supported by the PSOE. What makes you think that Gracia and the socialist group will make a comeback?
A: Need. If Cambiemos Orihuela does well and can lead a progressive government alternative, the PSOE will have no choice but to move away from the Cs to join this progress and this change. I think that 8 years and given how PP-C governments and Gracia and Cs PSOE are working, Cambiemos Orihuela is “a good thing to know” and should lead the alternative.
Q: Objections to votes by those who will support Cambiemos to get out of the deadlock, even if they don’t share a ballot at the regional or national level. Is there any data or indication that it might transfer from majority parties?
A: Yes, in this campaign and these years, more and more diverse people have reached out to us than ever before. I think this is partly a result of our owning our municipal autonomy. Progressive and transformative forces and parties participate in Cambiemos, but all our decisions and strategies are determined within and for Orihuela alone. Additionally, local autonomy, “oriolan-style transformative progressivism” and, above all, the solvency we have demonstrated over the years in opposition are causing many to see us as a useful alternative to government, which we know we are not quite positioned for. in some respects we are at the same coordinates.
“Many people who are not at our same coordinates see us as a useful alternative to government”
Q: Give an example.
A: We are clearly an ecological force, and we know that sectors that don’t quite identify with this political framework aesthetically will vote for us, but we know that Orihuela’s urban and economic model dooms us to environmental disaster and insecurity. And they will certainly support us because we are the only force that dares to question the urban and economic model that is oppressing Orihuela and propose alternatives.
“We are the only force that dares to question the urban and economic model that oppresses Orihuela”
Q: In this campaign, you focus on urbanism. What would be the most urgent measures to be taken?
A: When we talk about city planning, we mean dealing with the lack of access to decent housing, the lack of environmental sustainability, the lack of land for the green industry, the impossibility of growth in the districts, or the inability to revitalize the historic center and sports, educational areas. facilities and cultural. Most of the promises heard in the campaign right now cannot be fulfilled if urban policy is not questioned, and I think only Cambiemos would dare. Steps must be taken to have a new overall plan, but also specific changes to address the needs that recent governments have mentioned so that no more tourist housing is built on the beach, the only thing preferred by recent governments.
Q: What is your housing policy?
A: Orihuela should have a Ministry of Housing with a budget and resources, provide rent assistance, subsidize small homeowners for the rehabilitation and energy efficiency of their homes, increase the stock of public housing, or establish a mediation or public assurance system for small, informal contacts. speculative landlords and potential tenants. All these measures will not only increase the rental supply and indirectly limit prices, but will also create a large number of construction jobs that are not dependent on coastal construction.
“Most of the promises heard in the campaign right now cannot be met if urban policy is not questioned”
Q: Another of the main axes of your program is inheritance.
A: In terms of historical heritage, the most urgent measures will be the revitalization of the historic center and traditional neighborhoods, the rehabilitation and settlement of existing houses in these areas. We should also bet on the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of our assets, such as the new museumization of MARQUO, the Master Plan for the Fortress and Walls, the pedestrianization of part of the historic center and the Continuation of the Asset declaration. Cultural Interest of the Convent of San Juan de la Penitencia y de los Salzillos. Once again, these policies not only serve the heritage itself, but also contribute to improving the lives of the neighbors around them.
Q: And a healthier Town Hall.
A: We need a fundamental change in hiring policy designed to make some big companies make a lot of money at the expense of degrading the quality of services or jobs and making working people precarious. There is also a lack of attention to contracts that has caused us to lose public money and increase the risk of corruption. It’s also outrageous that the City Council continues without decentralization, without a business relationship, or without regular and transparent professional career advancement. All this causes an internal injustice in part of the civil service and an external inefficiency that many neighbors suffer from.
“The hiring policy is designed to make some large companies make a lot of money at the expense of lowering the quality of service”
Q: What does Cambiemos recommend to make the garbage collection and street cleaning service work better?
A: Two key things: increase finances and modernize management by keeping it from being public. Orihuela should incorporate an ecological perspective into its waste management. This includes increasing the workforce, renewing the vehicle fleet, separating the organic fraction, increasing containers and bins to promote separation at the source, developing urban composting projects, improving pruning services or introducing circular economy and waste recovery projects. The more invested in this service and the more ecological the way it is managed, the cheaper it will be (due to the reduction in tons taken to landfills) and the more resources it will have to make Orihuela cleaner and above all more. sustainable.