The Socialist Party stated this Monday that the audit report from the Sindicatura de Comptes on the 2020 accounts casts doubt on Carlos Mazón’s leadership of the Provincial Assembly and suggests that the Alicante Provincial Assembly ranks among the weakest of the three provincial bodies in the Valencian Community. The party framed these findings as an indication of governance failures at the provincial level, arguing that municipalities in Alicante face the gravest challenges in comparison with neighboring provinces.
In the published statement, the PSOE criticized the current municipal government for harming local municipalities across the province and the broader Alicante region. They highlighted that Alicante shows the poorest management indicators when measured against the councils of Castellón and Valencia. Diputación has countered that a sizable portion of the observed data concerns accounting issues rather than real management shortcomings.
The socialist position points to a stark gap in subsidies and transfers relative to Diputación’s overall expenditures, arguing that resources directed to provincial municipalities are significantly smaller in Alicante. They claim that Diputación de Alicante transfers 15% less than Castellón and 25% less than Valencia, a discrepancy they view as evidence of underinvestment in the province’s towns and cities.
They also noted that Alicante is the only institution that increased the number of unprocessed invoices from 10.8 million in 2019 to 16.4 million in 2020, while Valencia and Castellón showed similar increases in 2019. Acknowledging the 2020 figures, the party suggested that the spike reflects administrative backlog rather than a surge in spending efficiency, calling for closer scrutiny of how invoices are processed and tracked.
City Council sources, however, described the €5.5 million rise in unprocessed invoices as a fiscal accounting issue. They argued that the fiscal year ends before December due to timing and that the figure will appear in the next year’s budget, giving the impression of an out-of-budget burden. This explanation aims to frame the anomaly as a routine budgeting artifact rather than a structural problem.
A member of the Alicante regional assembly from the PSPV compared per-capita spending across the provinces, noting that Valencia records 188 euros per person, Castellón 261.6 euros, and Alicante 107 euros. The speaker warned that the 2020 report covers Mazón’s first full year in office and suggested that it reveals persistent insufficiencies and shortages in municipal funding. The assertion is that Mazón’s leadership has not yet delivered the promised improvements for Diputación and its municipalities.
Consequently, the socialist group urged the PP to act in the interests of Alicante’s municipalities. They called for Mazón to step back as head of Diputación, arguing that the current leadership has not prioritized the province’s needs and has treated the institution as a campaign platform rather than a governing body dedicated to public service. This appeal is framed as a move to secure more effective governance for the province’s towns and residents.
From Diputación’s perspective, the administration asserted that investment gaps are best understood through a per-capita lens. They claimed that the provincial priorities focus on supporting smaller municipalities and cooperative efforts with all councils. The underlying message is that collaboration and targeted aid are essential to help neighbors weather the current economic challenges and stimulate local growth.
In closing, the parties emphasized that Alicante’s funding constraints limit its capacity to invest and respond to local needs. They argued that reduced state allocations at the national level translate into tighter budgets and slower development, underscoring the importance of stable funding streams to empower municipalities to rebuild and grow. The debate continues as stakeholders seek a governance approach that reliably supports the province’s communities and future prosperity. [citation attribution: City Council and PSOE communications, 2020–2021 reports].