The two-year-old setback for Ciudadanos began in the Murcia region when a no-confidence motion failed, signaling the start of a turbulent chapter for the party in the Valencian Community and Alicante. The episode ended with Toni Cantó, the regional head, stepping down and triggering a cascade that saw several prominent figures drop out of various high-profile commitments. Shortly after Cantó, Emilio Argüeso and Marta Martín emerged as key figures. Fast forward to today, the liberal party endures with heavy losses, a situation that looms especially as the 28 May elections approach and survival becomes an increasingly precarious challenge. A split had already taken shape two years earlier between those favoring cooperation with the PP, many former members or ex-supporters, and those who pushed for stronger ties with the Socialists. Rebels within Ciudadanos still resist the rapprochement.
The week just finished carried the weight of multiple Cs crises in Alicante and in the broader regional political arena. The focal point shifted to the Provincial Assembly of Alicante, where two party lawmakers announced their departures. Deputy Infrastructure Javier Gutiérrez started the exodus on Monday and was followed by Vice President Julia Parra on Thursday. The PP, aligned in governance, aimed to remain dominant. This prompted left-wing critics to accuse the president of corruption, a charge leveled by Carlos Mazón, the PP candidate for the Generalitat. At the regional level, Parra and Gutiérrez urged that the party leadership, under Mamen Peris, be seen as advancing Botànic’s interests. All this unfolds with just over two months remaining before the 28M elections.
Between Cantó’s exit and Parra’s, Ciudadanos appeared to be a central player in a narrative predicting the party’s decline. Cantó left the Liberals in March 2021 amid claims of internal decline and whispers of a leadership rift. His departure followed a failed bid to push out the executive, including leader Inés Arrimadas, in a bid to energize the party and undermine a no-confidence motion in Murcia, which helped propel a Madrid election and the overall conservative victory led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
Trustee in the courts
At that time, the Cortes trustee faced pressure from Arrimadas to quell rising internal dissent and the escalating accusations against the PP. He eventually dissociated himself from the party, announcing his resignation in front of reporters and stepping away from politics. Later, it became clear that the resignation claim had not been accurate, revealing a more complicated saga.
The turmoil in Murcia, compounded by a string of electoral defeats, including Catalonia, pushed Ciudadanos toward a crossroads from which there was no easy exit. The Orange party quickly dismissed Alicante senator Emilio Argüeso a few days after, accusing him of offering incentives to attract former PP defectors.
The national Cs leadership pressed for one of its stronger personalities in the Community to resign from the Upper House representation, attributing the move to a vendetta by Arrimadas tied to Argüeso’s closeness with Fran Hervías, a former Cs official who joined the Popular Party. This maneuver further weakened the Valencian faction, which was still reeling from Cantó’s abrupt departure and grappling with control of the parliamentary group.
24 hours
If Cantó’s exit was followed by Argüeso’s, a further blow arrived within 24 hours: Marta Martín, Alicante MP, left her seat in Congress due to disagreements with the leadership. The Murcia setback and the Madrid early elections call produced a dizzying, disastrous week for the Cs. The education crisis and the resulting resignations pushed the political project to the brink.
Two years on, the outlook for liberals in the Community and at the national level remains bleak. The previous February showed stalled progress, increased departures, and more MPs crossing to the PP to contend with Mazón’s Generalitat candidacy. The most notable regional moves included Ruth Merino’s shift from orange spokesperson in the Cortes to the PP’s economic team, and Francisco Sánchez’s move from Cs municipal spokesperson in Elda to the popular mayoralty there. The Cs’ national leadership framed Merino’s move as confirmation of a project that was clear, social in nature, and focused on service to citizens. With Merino’s exit paired with Peris’ ascent, a phase of increased convergence between PSPV and the Cs leadership emerged, compounding the strain.
Municipalities
At the state level, Sánchez’s entry into the PP did not ensure easy integration. The resignation of Fran Muñoz, then-president of Elda, marked a decisive moment after he was blocked from becoming mayor, a decision that triggered mass resignations by PP members in the municipality. The entry of former Cs members into the PP has produced ongoing tensions in several towns, including Granja de Rocamora where Cs mayor Javier Mora is aligned with the PP. He is slated to be the PP mayoral candidate on May 28. In Vega Baja, popular councilors offered their resignations to protest outcomes, while in Sant Joan d’Alacant there are efforts to run a joint PP-Cs list, and all attention now falls on liberal mayor Santiago Román in Vine, and on l’Alacantí’s mayor, who has also attracted scrutiny.
Elche illustrates another unresolved Cs chapter, with municipal spokesperson Eva Crisol announcing her departure at a February 27 plenary meeting after it was revealed that Eduardo García-Ontiveros would be the 28M candidate for Elche. García-Ontiveros rejoined the party after a prior expulsion four years earlier.
March kept the spotlight on Diputación de Alicante. It began with Javier Gutiérrez announcing his move from Cs to the non-member group, following a volatile period over the Orihuela no-confidence motion and related disputes with the PSPV and Xixona governments. He argued that the Cs leadership, aligned with President Puig, sought to destabilize the provincial government to undermine Mazón and gain advantages for Botànic. Parra publicly supported his partner and defended the work she had contributed in recent years.
Ultimatum
Peris, along with national coordinator Carlos Pérez-Nievas, traveled to the Provincial Assembly to press Parra to demand Mazón dismiss Gutiérrez or break the government agreement with the PP. Parra departed the Cs the very next day to join the non-member group. The situation now balances between power plays by defectors from the left and the PP’s effort to close ranks and finish the mandate. All this unfolds with about two months left before 28M. The Cs’ breakup, which began in Murcia, reached a new phase in Diputación on March 10, 2021, marking the exact anniversary of the failed motion.
Focusing on those still resisting in the orange formation
Following the Alicante Provincial Council turmoil, attention shifts to other Cs members in the province. Figures like Santiago Román, mayor of Sant Joan d’Alacant, and Mari Carmen Sánchez, deputy mayor of Alicante, seem closer to the PP. Román has signaled a period of reflection about his future after supporting Parra’s departure. Sánchez has chosen to stay out of the limelight, insisting that his focus remains on governance and that his term will end
soon. Others remain deeply aligned with the party. This group includes Alicante mayor Adrián Santos Pérez, who urged moving on after Parra and Gutiérrez left and continued working on the project; Rosa García of Benejúzar, deputy mayor José Aix of Orihuela, and Eduardo García-Ontiveros in Elche, who faced expulsion nearly four years ago but has returned.
Overall, the Cs now count 27 mayors across the province. Peris has indicated that a priority is to finalize the regional lists as she leads the party. After the Alicante County Council crisis, the next step is assembling the broader political map for the upcoming elections.