White smoke in vehicle PSPV. The Valencian Socialist leader José Muñoz has been elected as the new ombudsman in Cortes, a move that aligns with expectations given his longstanding proximity to the party leadership. Since Rebeca Torró and Arcadi España shifted to the Secretariats of State overseeing Industrial and Regional Policy, Muñoz has been a familiar figure at the center of the party’s planning, and his appointment reflects the current forecast of the party’s direction. .
What stood out more was the appointment of the deputy ombudsman and the vacant group chair position. The parliamentary line begins with the former president of the Valencian State Council. Toni Gaspar, aligned with Rosa Peris, is poised to become the group’s new president, replacing Ximo Puig, who was initially considered for the role. María José Salvador and José Chulvi continue to serve as MPs for Castellón and Alicante. Additionally, Mercedes Caballero will oversee the Valencia province, a post previously held by the incoming ombudsman. .
Muñoz emerged as the top choice due to his established ties within the party’s structure and his closeness to the leadership. Since 2017, he has served as Organizing Secretary of the Valencian Federation, a role reconfirmed at the 2021 congress, and he has completed more than two terms in the regional parliament, where he acted as Treasury spokesman. In that capacity, he publicly scrutinized the Balances change and Gambling law reforms in recent months. .
His new duties will include amplifying the opposition’s voice in the regional parliament and engaging directly with the president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, during control sessions. The next full session is not expected until February at the earliest, as January is a non-working month in the assembly. By then, the congress that will elect Puig’s successor as PSPV president is anticipated to occur between the second and third month of the year. .
Meanwhile, the party yesterday approved the national committee’s call for the January 8 meeting, the body responsible for deciding the date and location of the extraordinary congress. The main options on the table are the weekend of February 24-25 or March 2-3, with Castellón as a potential venue if the last two choices move forward, as the Alicante venue had been used previously. Due to tight deadlines, discussions were opened with Ferraz to secure suitable dates. .
Impulse for the Alternative
Yesterday’s changes ripple through this internal process. Muñoz’s appointment signals continuity with the present leadership while remaining open to other possibilities in a group already aligned with the party’s current direction. His long-standing ties to Puig may influence his path when the extraordinary congress is eventually held, with his tenure likely shaped by the party’s internal tempos and possible structural shifts. .
Gaspar is viewed as someone close to Carlos Fernández Bielsa, the Valencian state secretary, after being seen supporting the mayor of Mislata at the entrance of the national committee on Saturday. Administration sources described his deputy ombudsman appointment as a gesture to involve the broader faction, emphasizing efforts to unite the party and foster cohesion. .
More aligned with the current administration is the elevation of Rosa Peris, the party’s deputy secretary for Equality since October, to head the group, a post Puig held after joining the opposition. The leadership reasons cited centered on her record in the feminist movement and the historic significance of appointing the first woman to this position. Caballero’s rise to lead the Valencia province is seen as a targeted move toward addressing remaining party sensitivities. .
“We will inject fresh momentum into the alternative,” Puig stated to reporters after the session. Attendees report a message echoing that of the national committee on Saturday: a pivot away from a front-focused stance and toward a strong, harmonious party that remains in firm opposition. A meeting on January 10 gathered all corporate representatives of PSPV to formalize this direction. .
This renewed energy is expected to trigger further changes within the group. New members like Benjamí Mompó, Pedro Ruiz, and Xelo Angulo will join, and parliamentary roles will be reshuffled with some speakers replaced. The goal is to sharpen the party’s voice while maintaining a courteous tone. In parallel, there are plans to reveal more about the party’s future trajectory through ongoing developments. .
Ximo Puig is no longer an MP in Cortes. The PSPV general secretary announced his resignation from the autonomous chamber, marking the first tangible result of the “step back” from the federation leadership, which was announced ahead of the national committee meeting last Saturday and will culminate in an extraordinary congress within three months. Puig described the move as “the end of a stage,” reflecting on a long political journey that began decades earlier in Valencia. He has previously left Cortes records and later returned; this time, the path appears to be final for Cortes, though not for the Senate, where Puig stated he would continue to work in defense of the same positions and would chair the Budget Commission in the next plenary session. .
Puig’s earlier moments of departure were part of a long arc in which he moved from private secretary to the president of the Generalitat, returning to political life in different roles. While this farewell signals a generational shift, Puig emphasized that the Senate remains a platform to discuss regional financing reform at its next plenary and to guide ongoing budgets, reinforcing that his influence endures in the Upper House. .