Less talk, more action. That is the pressing refrain of the new Consell, led by Carlos Mazón. The focus is on repaying the Generalitat Valenciana’s historic debt of 43 million euros to Elche for land on which the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) stands. More than a year has passed since an agreement was signed between former Generalitat president Ximo Puig and former Elche mayor Carlos González, a pact supported by the socialist group in the Cortes who questioned what happened to it. Mazón’s administration says the signed document is invalid, yet there is a credible plan to channel additional funds to Elche; officials assert these investments are already included in the regional budget for the coming year. Puig and González sealed the protocol on October 6, 2022, under which the regional government agreed to pay over four years.
Loyalty
The socialist group, led by Elche deputy Ramón Abad, seeks clarification about the protocol between the Generalitat and the Elche City Council regarding the historic GNA lands debt. Abad emphasizes that the protocol commits to financing infrastructure in future budgets to acknowledge the city council’s efforts. A key question raised in the Regional Parliament asks whether the current Consell intends to honor the obligations outlined in the protocol and carry them into effect.
PP and Vox refuse to press the Consell to pay the historic debt to Elche citing lack of legal validity of the protocol
At a meeting chaired by Santiago Lumbreras, regional secretary for Institutional Affairs and Transparency, officials noted that the protocol supported by Puig “lacks legal validity” because it is “a purely political agreement expressing only the will of the signatories.” The discussion highlighted that the only binding commitment from the previous Generalitat leadership was infrastructure, without specifying the projects or costs needed to advance Elche’s European Green Capital candidacy. The present Consell’s position is to set Puig’s protocol aside and point to a package of investments detailed as binding in the Generalitat’s 2024 budget. These investments include reviving the tram in the city, completing the Southern Ring Road, transforming the San Antón neighborhood, and bringing tram service online. They also cover the expansion of health infrastructure at the Travalón and San Fermín centers and the General Hospital, the restoration of the Almoravid wall, and the preservation of the Palmeral, with a total near 50 million for the coming year.
fully loaded
The debt issue was a topic at an Elche City Council plenary meeting last Friday. The government coalition of PP and Vox declined to demand payment, arguing the protocol is not valid. Mayor Pablo Ruz disclosed in a report from the municipal secretariat that there is no file in the City Council regarding collection. In defense of the agreement Puig signed last October, the opposition composed of PSPV and Compromís found themselves isolated. Ruz later commented on the debt demand, stating that the matter is largely settled with the tram and Ronda Sur investments. The mayor, who spoke with resolve at the recent assembly, characterized Puig’s protocol as a bold but misguided gambit, suggesting that Elche could pay the debt only after paying for the land itself, an assertion some critics described as political rhetoric.
An agreement aimed at achieving European Green Capital status by 2030
The plenary hall of the Elche City Council hosted the signatories of the protocol on October 6, 2022: the former Generalitat president Ximo Puig and the former Elche mayor Carlos González, who pledged that the Generalitat would settle the 43 million owed for the land within four years. The protocol stated that the Generalitat’s investment would support unspecified infrastructure to advance Elche’s bid for European Green Capital in 2030. The agreement was announced four years after Puig first publicized the plan, with seven months left before regional and municipal elections on May 28. [Source attribution requested: official records reviewed for context.]