A plan to shape a better Orihuela through local leadership
The electoral platform launched by Cambiemos centers on a clear schedule for May 28 that positions the organization’s bid for mayor. The plan focuses on four main pillars: redefining the regional and urban model, safeguarding heritage, culture and memory, advancing social rights and municipal services, and ensuring efficiency and order within the City Council.
With a background rooted in a vision of transformative progressivism for Orihuela, the candidate and his team highlight years of engagement with civil society and the local fabric. The campaign points to the citizens themselves through the Santa Justa base and reiterates a commitment to gathering proposals from markets and other city spaces. This inclusive approach was explained by the current councilor and mayoral candidate, Carlos Bernabé.
He noted that some proposals are highly specific and require only political will, while other initiatives demand longer term work. The guiding idea is to create a realistic and transformative path that respects the Orihuela inherited by future generations and moves forward with clearly defined goals.
There is a sense of frustration that the program resembles the one from 2019, as some argue that prior administrations by PP-Cs and Cs-PSOE led to paralysis and stalled progress.
The area is for a green and local Orihuela
Councilor María Sandoval, ranked fourth on the electoral list and a political scientist by training, explained that the program emphasizes environmental recommendations alongside mobility, urban planning and street cleaning. The aim is to push the ecological transition, develop fair and sustainable urban planning, modern and ecological mobility and public transport, and update the waste management system to meet European, national and regional standards.
Sandoval stressed the need for a city planning plan aligned with the real housing needs of residents, and not a speculative model that ends with the Cala Mosca urbanization endorsed by parties across the spectrum. This plan would address housing on the last stretch of the coastline and ensure responsible growth.
For an Orihuela that preserves its memory, culture and heritage
Leticia Pertegal, listed as number two in heritage, described this segment as central to the platform. She characterized the initiative as ambitious, with a focus on preserving and reviving the city’s legacy. It covers historical, civil, archaeological, religious, furnishing, documentary and musical heritage, as well as historical memory, tourism and culture.
One long-standing goal of the local group has been to safeguard historic assets and use them to anchor the municipality’s economic strategy. The plan envisions transforming Rubalcava Palace into a venue where wedding events could be hosted in the city museum, both inside the palace and in its gardens, to showcase local heritage.
Rights, welfare and freedoms at the local level
Sandoval described a vision of a prosperous, supportive and inclusive Orihuela that would make social rights, welfare and sexual and emotional freedoms central to the campaign. He stressed that much remains to be done in the municipality, and that the social welfare area has been left behind by previous administrations from the right.
Within this framework, direct rent assistance emerges as a priority, complemented by public guarantees or subsidies to help small homeowners rehabilitate properties and improve energy efficiency. The plan also aims to increase child education spaces and ensure the efficient management and public visibility of municipal assets and services. Equality efforts will be advanced through cross-feminist measures across all areas, with a focus on LGTBIQA+ rights, resource allocation for care of people with special needs, and comprehensive municipal attention.
A more organized, efficient and decentralized City Council
Bernabé presented the axis of democratic renewal, arguing that any proposed project for Orihuela should be judged by how the City Council is organized. Cambiemos advocates a fairer council with decentralized and effective public services across the center, coast and outlying counties, with a clear stance against corruption.
The emphasis is on strengthening municipal public services and shifting governance away from areas that cause political friction. City planning, infrastructure and procurement will be restructured to reduce political harm and improve outcomes for residents.
Bernabé highlighted the need to clear a backlog, expand recruitment oversight, introduce social provisions and empower the workforce in key areas.