Juanma Moreno's PP launches its new territorial hegemony in Andalusia: eight capitals and six councils

He was the candidate imposed by Pablo Casado who, first, swallowed and then adopted Juanma Moreno and, for a few hours, has been the symbol of the new political stage that is opening in Andalusia. José Luis Sanz took the mayor of Seville in his hands this Saturday and formally consummated the new political dominance of the PP in Andalusia after it achieved a historic victory in municipal elections on May 28, surpassing the PSOE in votes and taking control of the majority in all the capitals with the exception of Jaén, which, despite everything, will also govern thanks to a pact.

The importance of the Sevillian conquest attests to the fact that the leader of the Andalusian PP and president of the Junta has supported the new Seville mayor with his presence, of whom he has said that he will be “the best mayor in Spain”.. He has done so after attending the inauguration of Bruno García in Cádiz and the agenda will be completed this afternoon in Granada, covering his great personal bet, Marifrán Carazo.

In the more than four decades of autonomy in Andalusia, municipal hegemony had never corresponded to another party that was not the PSOE, which in the elections three weeks ago suffered its second major blow. After losing the Junta de Andalucía in 2018, Andalusian socialism had its last refuge in the town halls and in the provincial councils.

The new mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, after taking office. EFE

But that shelter has flown. The force of the electoral storm has been of such magnitude that, from today, the Seville municipality of Dos Hermanas (130,000 inhabitants) will be the most important with a socialist mayor in the entire community.

To such an extent it has become a bastion, that Pedro Sánchez has chosen it to start the pre-campaign of the generals with a great act this Sunday full of symbolism. It is the same place where in January 2017 he announced that he was running for primaries after being ousted the previous year by a federal committee.

If Andalusia was, until 2018, a rare bird where political alternation had not occurred, since May of this year it can be said that this alternation has been fully consummated after the socialist monopoly began to break five years ago.

In this sense, and shortly before Sanz's inauguration in Seville, Juanma Moreno himself highlighted how “a social majority has supported us” and that “we have done so without the influence of other political groups, maintaining our personality, our criteria, our political project”, in a vague allusion to the forced pacts with Vox in other territories of the country.

The Popular Party won the 28-M elections with 1,486,796 votes compared to the 1,301,405 for the PSOE, although the Socialists have the consolation that they still have the majority of councillors, 3,780, despite having lost 428, while the PP rose from 2,493 to 3,373. In the capital Seville, the PP took advantage of the PSOE in councilors (14 compared to 12) and in votes (132,745 compared to 110,242).

Second round of the autonomous

If the 28-M was raised on a national scale as a first round of the general elections -which will finally be held on July 23-, in Andalusia the municipal elections could be equated with the second round of the regional elections in 2022. And the victory of the PP has been overwhelming.

Like Sanz in Seville, seven other PP candidates have wielded the mayoral staff since this Saturday in the rest of the Andalusian capitals: Mar Vázquez, in Almería; Bruno García, in Cádiz; José María Bellido, in Córdoba; Marifrán Carazo, in Granada; Pilar Miranda, in Huelva; Agustín González, in Jaén, and Francisco de la Torre, in Málaga. Of them, five with an absolute majority.

Of these mayors there are two that are especially significant for the PP. The one in Seville was the most coveted square, since it was (in the past) the most important city in Spain with a PSOE mayor. The president of the PP himself, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, pointed it out when asking, days before the elections, to give Pedro Sánchez a “great upset” by voting for his candidate, Sanz.

The constitution of the town hall of the Andalusian capital has, in fact, been one of those that aroused the most interest and even its Plateresque building in Plaza Nueva has not only been approached by Moreno, but also by a large representation of the PP and of. the regional executive. The Minister of Education, Patricia del Pozo, the Deputy Secretary of Economy of the PP and number one for Seville in Congress, Juan Bravo, or the former minister and former mayor, Juan Ignacio Zoido, attended the event.

Along with Seville, the Andalusian PP had bet heavily on Granada, where Juanma Moreno placed one of his closest and most trusted collaborators as a candidate -since this afternoon mayor. Minister of Development until just a few months ago, Marifrán Carazo achieved what seemed impossible, an indisputable absolute majority of 15 councilors, eight more than his party had.

The new mayor of Cádiz, Bruno García, receives the command rod this Saturday. EFE

The same story, with variations, is repeated in other capitals. Like Cádiz, where the turnaround has been spectacular. From a mayor of Adelante Andalucía -José María González, Kichi- to an absolute majority that has made the provincial president of the PP, Bruno García, the new mayor. Oen Huelva, where the PSOE saw its only absolute majority in a capital evaporate at the hands of the new PP mayoress, Pilar Miranda.

Where it already governed, the PP has seen its positions strengthened. This has happened in Malaga, whose perennial mayor, Francisco de la Torre, has got rid of his partners and has seen his prayers answered with an absolute majority of 17 councilors. The same in Córdoba, with José María Bellido at the head of 15 of the 29 councilors of the plenary session and a completely clear mandate ahead. The same as in Almería, where the successor to Ramón Fernández-Pacheco has improved the results, reaching 15 councilors out of 27.

Jaén has been, by far, the most disputed consistory. It is, in fact, the only capital in which the PSOE won the local elections, although only in votes and by a difference of just 300 ballots.. The key here was held by Jaén Derecho Más, a newly created party inspired by Teruel Existe that appeared out of nowhere and took out three councilors.

The PSOE, in order to retain the mayoralty, even offered them a year as mayor, but the promise of investment by the PP ended up tipping the scales in favor of Agustín González, today mayor.

Agustín González, holding the staff of mayor of Jaén. EFE

On the political map drawn on the night of May 28, the blue of the PP predominates from one end of Andalusia to the other. With exceptions, such as Seville, the vast majority of the provinces supported the PP. Some, like that of Huelva, in which socialist domination has been total for more than four decades.

The councils: six out of eight

This predominance also in the provinces is what will be displayed below, when the provincial councils are constituted. According to the Electoral Law, this will be the fifth day after the formation of the consistories, although the date may vary.

At the beginning of the year, in the strategy meetings of the Andalusian PP, the 8+8 was caressed when forecasts were made for the municipal elections. Eight mayoralties in the eight capitals and eight councils, the plenary session at eight was seen as an objective within reach.

The fear of an excess of demobilizing euphoria and the adjusted results that the surveys indicated in some points stopped the enthusiasm dry.. But the score for 28-M has finally been much closer to the euphoria of the beginning of the year than to the prudence of recent months.

So much so that in five days, day up day down, the PP will also assume power in six of the community's eight provincial councils, all except those of Jaén and Seville, which the PSOE has managed to retain, although in the latter case losing the absolute majority.

Granada, Córdoba, Huelva (which had only been in the hands of the PSOE) and Cádiz are now added to Málaga and Almería, which were already governed by the popular groups, the latter after securing the support of the independents of La Línea de la Concepción, who They have negotiated two ways.

With a total joint budget close to 2,700 million euros, the provincial councils were the last jewel in the crown of the PSOE. Not only because of the territorial power they represent, but also, and especially, because of their ability to sign up for different positions and give party members and leaders a payroll.

That explains why the feeling that the 28-M leaves within the PSOE is that of an orphan. There is talk of an unmitigated “disaster” and internal discontent is growing against the general secretary, Juan Espadas, with whom a sector intends to dispute the leadership when, after the general elections and if the tragedy is confirmed and they are also lost, the congresses are called extraordinary of the party at all levels.