The forced reinvention of Francisco de la Torre after the disappointment of Expo 2027 in Malaga

The Malaga delegation was still trying to digest the disappointment over the designation of Belgrade as the venue for Expo 2027 when the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, clung to an idea expressed in his last investiture speech: “It is a project that is worth. With or without her, we will try to make it go ahead “. The councilor, in this way, did not lower his arms before the doubts that seized the promises of growth of the city and the uncertainties that condition its political future. Because a large part of the management of what is probably his last term was going to revolve around an event of an international nature on which he had outlined the next phase of transformation of Malaga. A development that is now nothing more than an expectation and that forces the popular leader to reinvent himself to try to continue with the project and provide solutions to persistent problems such as access to housing..

The sensation of bewilderment left by the decision of the delegates of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), who granted 81 votes to the candidacy of the Serbian capital, compared to the 70 granted to Malaga, extends over the multitude of infrastructures that they were going to be undertaken due to the impulse of the International Exposition and on which a good part of the expansion of the city was supported.

Taking into account the worrying rise in prices, the construction of 1,440 homes was one of the most anticipated actions. Like the expansion of the Palace of Fairs and Congresses, with which it was intended to satisfy the aspirations of Malaga to increase its share in this tourist segment. The new Auditorium, the Eje Litoral, the construction of the Distributor Road, the A-7054 highway, the Guadalmedina Plan or the expansion of the C-2 commuter line are other initiatives that are currently unknown if they will see the light of day.

The planned investments were around 2,000 million euros, an amount that the Malaga City Council will never be able to assume alone. If we add to this the economic horizon, with the European Union (EU) issuing signals about a recovery of the deficit rules and debt reduction, the margins for other administrations to join their attempt to try to keep the economy alive. project are significantly limited.

The predisposition of all of them can be verified shortly. The central Executive, for example, owns the land on which the heart of Expo 2027 was to be developed. Therefore, the non-election of the Malaga candidacy dissolves the transfer protocol signed in December last year by the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, with Francisco de la Torre. In the place, as an alternative, the possibility of hosting a center for digital companies had been discussed. We will have to wait to see if it is a feasible option. Like the expansion of the Merchandise Center that had been devised.

What should not suffer setbacks is the construction of 1,362 subsidized homes that the Public Land Business Entity (Sepes) has been promoting for years and has begun its first administrative procedures.

Congratulations Belgrade. Thanks to all our rivals: an honor to compete with them. And many thanks to those who have worked hard and well for the candidacy of #Málaga for months, for years. We have done a huge job that will be useful for the city @malaga_2027 FTP https://t.co/RnYIlhVnTn

– Paco de la Torre (@pacodelatorrep) June 21, 2023

The new scenario forces the councilor to review his government plan for the next four years and not disappoint the prospects generated. The Expo was going to be the culmination of his political career, the dream farewell after almost three decades at the head of the city and the legacy to a city in whose transformation he has been a key piece, but the snapshot of the inauguration of that “laboratory on the sustainability” is once again a desire today. And it highlights the difficulties of the city to attract a great event that catapults it to increase its degree of knowledge.

Due to all these conditions, and no matter how much Francisco de la Torre insists on breathing oxygen into the project, it seems unlikely that it can be revived in its original dimension.. This circumstance places the mayor before the difficult task of compensating for the disappointment suffered with exciting actions, which continue to deepen the national and international projection of Malaga, but which tackle the problems attached to the rapid growth experienced in recent years..

“We continue with the same enthusiasm, the same illusion, the same love and passion for the city,” said the councilor, who maintained that “it will not be called Expo 2027”, but “this great project, one way or another, will be a reality ”. Some of the collateral projects “will continue to live, because the city needs it,” he remarked..