Another government shakeup emerged in the region as two Alicante councilors, Javier Gutiérrez and José Martínez, spokespeople for Ciudadanos within the Alicante State Council, announced on Thursday morning that they are stepping back from local government and severing the agreement with the PSPV-PSOE. Since September 2020, a minority-led administration has guided the city under mayor Isabel López, and this new rupture marks the second break in l’Alacantí in a matter of weeks, following a similar rift in Sant Joan d’Alacant where Cs and PSPV alliances dissolved. The Liberals now align with the People’s Party. The move comes three and a half months after the election, as Liberal leadership faced a moment of reckoning open to speculation.
Gutiérrez and Martínez left the executive citing a string of disagreements with the PSPV, including disputes over the Piedra Negra landfill expansion and the most recent proposal for a sports center. Yet the real flashpoint appears to be their claim that their party was being pressed to sign away two of Cs three councilors, Martínez and Eduardo Ferrer, a move perceived as listening to PSPV-friendly negotiations. Martínez, who notably did not abandon the government agreement, suggests the aim was to stabilize and manage from within what the other governing option, Compromís, was trying to destabilize. The conflict has grown sharper as the two Cs members accuse the other side of trying to tilt the balance in favor of the socialist coalition.
PP’s hand
Mayor López, who said she learned the news from the press, suspects intervention by the PP and argues that the agreement collapsed because elections are near and outside interests are at play. In a message to local residents, López states that the administration remains under PSPV control and that the municipal trajectory will not be altered by the split of two Cs mayors. Regarding proposals to recruit Martínez and Ferrer, she claims this is part of an attempt by the Liberal party to justify a decision that has already been made. She adds that the deal had already fractured when Gutiérrez resigned from Urbanismo in September. The councilor from Jijón expresses disappointment that the arrangement crumbled just months after the election, noting the sense of responsibility and the frustration of sudden political shifts.
Ciudadanos councilors Javier Gutiérrez and José Martínez left the Xixona government team and left PSPV
The underlying tensions between liberals and socialists had long been evident and became a flashpoint. In Xixona, the departure of Gutiérrez and Martínez was anticipated by many, following a broader pattern seen in Sant Joan less than two months earlier. The change is viewed by some as a bid to recalibrate power and a reconfiguration of alliances, with Cs attempting to widen its influence in the center-right while taking advantage of vulnerabilities within the orange party. Ximo Puig, the PSPV general secretary and head of the Generalitat, reminded in Sant Joan that agreements once reached need to be honored.
single list
In Sant Joan, the pact collapsed after Cs and the PP announced plans for a shared municipal list for the upcoming elections, with Cs ultimately forming part of the government alongside PSPV. After days of intense tension and mutual recrimination, the agreement broke, and the plan for a Cs-to-PP alliance to sustain governance was put on hold. Mazón celebrated the “homecoming” of mayor Santiago Román, noting that the coalition had grown stronger under new terms. The coincidence of Cs members involved in both breaks—Gutiérrez and vice-president Julia Parra, fellow Sant Joan mayor—has sparked questions about party alignment and potential future moves by Mazón.
Accusations on networks: from signatures to heated posts
The Xixona mayor Isabel López shared the news on her social feed after learning about it from INFORMACIÓN, triggering a heated online discussion in which Ciudadanos member Gutiérrez participated. He answered by questioning whether López still represented the Liberal establishment, while others on social networks accused him of clinging to a volatile situation. The online chatter captured a theatre of political maneuvering as residents weighed the implications for local governance and coalition stability. [Citation: INFORMACIÓN]